[Craftmore]

But didnt Jesus Himself,Ask a woman to preach the gospel “IE HE is Risen” to the disciples?

[Mrs. Don-o]

Catholic women preach and teach. God knows *I* do. By that doesn't mean that women are Catholic deacons, priests, and bishops.

I presume *you* teach. (Writing stuff in FR is an aspect of that.) Does that make you a Catholic deacon, priest, or bishop?

[A.A. Cunningham]

How many women did Christ ordain to the Priesthood?

[Houghton M.]

Are you being sarcastic?

The women were witnesses, martyrs and that role has always been open to women.

Priesthood is derived from the 12 Apostles, period. Plenty of others are witnesses, testes, martyrs, disciples. Even the word “apostle” is sometimes used more widely in the NT.

But the Twelve chosen apostles were a distinct group. Only to them did Jesus give the authority to govern (bind and loose sins, accompanied by ordination in John’s Gospel—he breathed on them and conferred the Holy Spirit explicitly) and preach with apostolic authority.

An honest Protestant will recognize a distinct role for the 12, distinct from other disciples and witnesses. We are all witnesses, we are not all ordained priests. We are all baptismal priests. We are all ministers, witnesses, martyrs, testes, testifiers.

If you don’t accept Catholic and Orthodox teaching on the derivation of bishops and priests from the Twelve, fine. But then you don’t believe in priesthood. Fine.

Preaching with apostolic authority is not the same as giving a testimony or witnessing. Jesus authorized the Twelve to lead His Ecclesia. If you are a Protestant, you derive a general ministry from that. Fine.

But Catholics derive from that the specific episcopacy and priesthood.

At the time of the Reformation all the Protestant Reformers explicitly rejected the concept of priesthood as derived from the Twelve. (Anglicans retained it initially, rejected it in the 1550s, then tried to claim it back in later centuries; too late).

Those who rejected the idea of priesthood have nothing to say to what qualifies a person as a priest.

And should butt out.

[publius911]

But didnt Jesus Himself,Ask a woman to preach the gospel “IE HE is Risen” to the disciples?

Don't be silly.

[Cronos]

Preaching is one thing — to that, all are called, woman, man or child. But the elders (presbyter = priest) were always men from Christ’s time. We cannot change what Christ ordained.