An historic occasion took place in Bahrain on Sunday 5th June 2011: the ordination of the Reverend Catherine Dawkins as the first female priest in the Middle East. The ceremony and celebratory service, held in St. Christopher’s Cathedral, was conducted by the Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf, the Right Reverend Michael Lewis.
This landmark event had been made possible earlier in 2011 when the Provincial Synod (comprising the four Anglican dioceses of Egypt, Jerusalem, Iran, and that of Cyprus and the Gulf) had voted in favour of this change.
Previously, Reverend Catherine Dawkins, as an ordained Deacon, had served as Assistant Chaplain at Christ Church, Aden, alongside her husband and chaplain, the Reverend Nigel Dawkins. Both have since re-located to Dubai in the UAE where they will take up new roles and challenges.
The ordination service on 5th June was attended by many fellow clergy and guests, not only those serving in other chaplaincies in the Gulf region, but also ordained friends of Catherine’s who had travelled from the UK and the USA to support her on this special day.
In the words of the Dean of St. Christopher’s Cathedral, the Very Reverend Christopher Butt, as reported in the Gulf Daily News on 6th June:“We are privileged to host this big occasion, not because it is a Bahraini event but because it holds significance for the whole of the region and this diocese. It is a joy to be involved in this process.
“It is a sign of recognition in the wider church that women have a final role in the ministry of the church and not a secondary one. It is also recognition of the gifts and special insights that women bring into the ministry in a powerful way.” |
