Erna Peijnenburg ordained as first woman bishop
The Old Catholic Church ordained Peijnenburg in Haarlem on Saturday; her formal installation as bishop of Haarlem follows on Sunday.
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Erna Peijnenburg was ordained as a bishop in Haarlem on Saturday. She is the first woman to become a bishop in the Netherlands within the Old Catholic Church, a church body that differs organisationally and theologically from the Roman Catholic Church.
The ordination took place on Saturday afternoon in the Grote or Sint-Bavokerk in Haarlem. The Old Catholic Church had announced the service in advance and offered a livestream. The enthronement, the formal taking up of her bishop's seat, follows on Sunday.
Peijnenburg was elected by the electoral college of the Diocese of Haarlem on 29 August. The college consists of clergy and lay people. According to the church announcement, she succeeded Bishop Dick Schoon, who stepped down in June after reaching state pension age.
The new bishop previously worked as a pastoral worker in the Roman Catholic Church. In 2011 she moved to the Old Catholic Church and was ordained a priest in 2013. Before her election as bishop, she was parish priest in Alkmaar and Enkhuizen.
The Old Catholic Church is part of the Union of Utrecht, an international communion of Old Catholic churches. The church recognises women as office-holders. This makes Peijnenburg's ordination historic for her church in the Netherlands, but the event does not mean that the Roman Catholic Church has changed its policy on women priests or bishops.
The distinction is relevant because in the Netherlands the term Catholic is often automatically associated with the Roman Catholic Church. The Old Catholic Church emerged in the nineteenth century after disputes over church authority and doctrine. It stands independently of Rome, although the two traditions share historical and liturgical similarities.
The ordination therefore has two layers of meaning. For the Old Catholic community, it is a change in church leadership and an affirmation of its own tradition. In wider society, the event is seen as a milestone for the position of women in religious institutions.
Peijnenburg is now responsible for the Diocese of Haarlem of the Old Catholic Church. The practical significance of her appointment lies mainly within that diocese: she leads the church organisation, represents her community and takes part in international consultations within the Union of Utrecht. Its symbolic significance extends beyond the size of the church body, precisely because she is the first woman bishop in the Netherlands.
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The ordination and the historical status were checked against church sources and an independent Catholic publication. The text avoids confusion with the Roman Catholic Church.
- confirmed Erna Peijnenburg was ordained as a bishop in Haarlem on 10 October. — The Old Catholic Church announced the ordination for 10 October in the Grote or Sint-Bavokerk. source
- confirmed Peijnenburg is the first woman bishop within the Dutch Old Catholic Church. — The Old Catholic Church and Katholiek Nieuwsblad describe her as the first woman bishop in the Netherlands. source
- confirmed Peijnenburg was elected by the electoral college of the Diocese of Haarlem on 29 August. — Reported in the official church announcement. source
- confirmed Peijnenburg was ordained as a priest within the Old Catholic Church in 2013. — The Union of Utrecht describes her career. source
- confirmed The Old Catholic Church differs organisationally from the Roman Catholic Church and is part of the Union of Utrecht. — The Union of Utrecht describes the affiliated Old Catholic churches; church sources confirm the Dutch context. source
Editor's note
The ordination, the election and Peijnenburg's church career have been confirmed by the Old Catholic Church and the Union of Utrecht. The article explicitly distinguishes between the Old Catholic and Roman Catholic churches.Sources
- Livestreams tijdens wijdingsweekend nieuwe bisschop Erna — Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland
- Erna Peijnenburg gekozen tot bisschop van Haarlem — Oud-Katholieke Kerk van Nederland
- Two new bishops for the Union of Utrecht — Union of Utrecht
- Erna Peijnenburg is de eerste vrouwelijke bisschop in Nederland — Katholiek Nieuwsblad
More on this in Dutch media
- AD — „erna peijnenburg”
- de Volkskrant — „erna peijnenburg”
- RTL Nieuws — „erna peijnenburg”