Mary Irene Levison (8 January 1923 – 12 September 2011) was the first person to petition the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

for the ordination of women to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in 1963. This was achieved five years later and Levison became a minister in 1973. In 1991 she was appointed as Queen's Chaplain, the first woman to hold the position.

Life

Born Mary Irene Lusk in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

on 8 January 1923, she was the fourth child of Mary Theodora Colville, and her husband Reverend David Colville Lusk (1881-1960). Her father was ordained in the United Free Church and at the time of her birth was the Chaplain to the Presbyterian members of the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

. One of her siblings was the pioneering social worker Janet Lusk (1924 - 1994). She attended the Oxford High School for Girls for her early education. When the family moved from Oxford to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

she attended St Monica's School. While there she sat the entrance examination for St Leonard's School in

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

which she attended from the age of 13. She returned to her home town of Oxford for university, studying at undergraduate level at

Lady Margaret Hall Lady Margaret Hall (LMH) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England, located on a bank of the River Cherwell at Norham Gardens in north Oxford and adjacent to the University Parks. The college is more formally known under ...

from 1941. Here she gained a first class degree in

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

, politics and economics. As part of her training to be a

deaconess The ministry of a deaconess is a ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a liturgical role. The word comes from the Greek ...

(licensed to preach) she returned to Edinburgh to attend St Colm's College and studied for the Bachelor of Divinity at New College (the Faculty of Divinity in the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

). She was awarded a Distinction in Systematic Theology and the Aitken Fellowship which enabled her to spend a semester in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

and a semester in

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Work in the Church of Scotland

She was appointed as Deaconess in St Michael's Church in

Inveresk Inveresk (Gaelic: ''Inbhir Easg'') is a village in East Lothian, Scotland situated to the south of Musselburgh. It has been designated a conservation area since 1969. It is situated on slightly elevated ground on the north bank of a loop ...

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; ; ) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It had a population of as of . History The name Musselburgh is Old English language, Old English in ...

near Edinburgh in 1954 where she served for 4 years. In 1958 she returned to St Colm's College taking up the post of tutor teaching Christian Doctrine, New Testament Studies and the practical training of the deaconess students. On Saturday 26 May 1963 Mary Lusk stood at the Bar of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

to test her call to ministry. The Moderator overseeing the proceedings was the Very Rev

James Stuart Stewart James Stuart Stewart (21 July 1896 – 1 July 1990) was a minister of the Church of Scotland. He taught New Testament Language, Literature and Theology at the University of Edinburgh ( New College). Educated at the High School of Dundee and the ...

. She was given 15 minutes to present her petition to the General Assembly. Her petition was for her Ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament. Her petition was received by the Assembly which instructed the Panel on Doctrine to consider its response and report to the following General Assembly. In 1967 six women wrote an open letter to call on the

to allow the ordination of women. The six were Lusk, Elizabeth G. K. Hewat, Margaret Forrester, Claude Barbour, Mary Weir and Sheila Spense (then named White). The six found that they were not allowed to lobby the men who were making the decision - so they decided to hold a press conference. The

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

lent them a room and the press were invited (but they were not expected in any numbers). On the day the room was packed and the six and their petition was in the press. The debate continued that year, but on 22 May 1968 women's ordination was approved. Levison became a minister in 1973.

Family and later life

In 1965 she married Reverend Frederick Levison and they moved to the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. When he retired in 1977 they returned to Edinburgh and she then became involved in pastoral care at St Andrew's and St George's Church, Edinburgh. She was appointed a Chaplain to Her Majesty in Scotland in 1991, and was the first female minister in this role. In 1993 she stood unsuccessfully as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

. She was awarded an honorary doctorate (DD) by the

in 1994. She died in Edinburgh on 12 September 2011 and is buried with her parents and other family members in

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

. The grave lies on the western wall of the west extension. Her papers and correspondence are housed at the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS; ; ) is one of Scotland's National Collections. It is one of the largest libraries in the United Kingdom. As well as a public programme of exhibitions, events, workshops, and tours, the National Library of ...

Publications

*''Wrestling with the Church'' (1992) autobiography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Levison, Mary 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 1923 births 2011 deaths 20th-century Scottish women 21st-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 21st-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 21st-century Scottish women People educated at St Leonards School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Oxford Honorary chaplains to the King

Life

Work in the Church of Scotland

Family and later life

Publications

See also

References