The Henson Journals

[21]

Monday, August 7th, 1922.

"Woman was not capable of the grace of holy orders. The priesthood was a vocation, not a profession, and so 'verboten' must be inscribed for all women, so far as the Church's ministry was concerned. The sphere of woman was the home."

– So the 'Daily Mail' reports the Revd B. C. Bourchier to have declared yesterday at St Jude–on–the–Hill. The statement is sufficiently dogmatic. It might fairly be asked how the reverend gentleman knows that "women are not capable of the grace of holy orders." Perhaps, indeed, we should first ask what this "grace of holy orders" actually is, & why females are incapable of receiving it. It cannot be any of the functions of the ministry – preaching, reading prayers, administering Baptism, celebrating Holy Communion, governing – for Women can obviously perform them all. We must suppose, then, that there is some Divine prohibition of women which disallows & invalidates the ministerial functions they may perform. But no such Prohibition can be adduced, nor can any be inferred so far as every ministerial function except celebrating Holy Communion is concerned, for all have been from time to time recognized & allowed in the Christian Church. And the solitary exception is nowise as clear as might fairly be thought requisite. If now women were ordained to the priesthood, and their 'celebrations' were allowed, the inference from ecclesiastical precedent would be invalidated by experience. It could no longer be adduced in argument.

[22]

The whole question of the range of female activity is one of expediency. Taking account of the necessary divergence of social function involved in the cardinal fact of Sex, is it expedient that women should be ordained? That Sex does imply a real & profound difference between men & women cannot be denied. That this difference must express itself in the social system appears to be equally indisputable. That an allocation of social functions would seem the most obvious method of such expression may pass as universally admitted. That such an allocation would most naturally assign to the male sex the public sphere, & to the female, the private or domestic, seems to be plain alike from the nature of the sex–differentiae as from the universal tradition of human society. On the other hand, it is impossible to ignore two new factors of a highly embarrassing kind. First, a large and increasing number of women refuse to accept this natural, reasonable, and almost unavoidable allocation of spheres, and insist upon admission into the sphere of public life. Next, there is a considerable excess of women over men, increased greatly but not created by the War: and these superfluous women, however willing they may be to accept their relegation to private life, have in fact no place therein. They cannot be wives and mothers for there are no men who can be the requisite husbands and fathers. Thus emerges a brutal, practical consideration which torpedoes the demands even of Nature itself.

[23]

The weather did not have a very hopeful aspect at breakfast, but our hosts were not daunted, & carried out the programme they had arranged. Their courage was rewarded, for the day proved unexpectedly fine, and our expedition was entirely successful. We motored to Durisdeer, a parish picturesquely situated in the hills. Here we had lunch very comfortably on a sloping bank which commanded a noble prospect of naked moors. After lunch we visited the parish church, in which are monuments of the Douglas family. Outside, against the wall of the church was a tomb bearing the following inscription:–

'Here lyes Daniel McMichel, Martyr. Shot dead at Dalveen by Sir John Dalyel for his adhering to the Word of God, Christ's Kingly government in His House, and the Covenanted Work of Reformation against Tyranny, Perjury, and Prelacy. 1685.

As Daniel cast was in the lyons' den

For praying unto God and not to men,

So lyons thus cruelly devoured me

For bearing witness to Truth's testimony.

I rest in peace till Jesus rend the cloud

And judge twixt me and those who shed my blood.'

At the west end of the church was a building of the 17th century which included some portions of an older fabric, a monastery. The church is said to have been dedicated to St Cuthbert.

[24]

In the centre of Durisdeer is a war–memorial. I made a complimentary observation on it to an ancient inhabitant who was standing near: and he opened out into a copious narrative. It appears that there had been a considerable controversy as to the site of the memorial, & that when at length a site had been agreed upon at a parish meeting by a majority of votes, the defeated minority repudiated the decision, & had proceeded to erect another memorial on the site they preferred. Is there any country but Scotland where such a question could have been answered in that way?

We motored from Durisdeer to Drumlaurig, and looked at the great house of the Duke of Buccleugh. It was built in 1687, and reminded me of Lumley Castle. The spectacle of the gardens all suffered to run wild was truly distressing. We went to tea with Mr & Mrs Hugh Gladstone. The lady was a Talbot, & has the face and manner of her house. Mr Gladstone is noted as an ornithologist of distinction. He has written an important work on the birds of Dumfriesshire, & is evidently an enthusiast on the subject. We returned to Murraythwaite after tea, arriving about 6.30 p.m.

It is truly humiliating to discover that, although one has held converse with friendly and cultivated people all day long, and has certainly taken one's full share in the rapid stream of various talk, one cannot at eventide recall a single sentence, spoken to or by one's self, which merits record!

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