Patricia Anne Brennan AM (15 April 1944 – 6 March 2011) was an Australian medical doctor and a prominent campaigner for the ordination of women in the Anglican Church of Australia.
[1] Brennan increasing became involved in advocating for the public health needs of women, particularly around the prevention of sexual violence and support for survivors.
[2][3] After her return to Australia, Brennan observed the stark contrast between the independence she had as a medical practitioner and a missionary working in Africa, and the more limited role she was expected to play as a wife in Sydney's Anglican church culture.
Frustration over the differences between what she had accomplished in Africa and what she was expected to do at home led her to question the limitations women faced in the church in Australia.
[2] At the time, the Anglican Church of Australia had an order of deaconess for women, but the clerical roles of deacon and priest were reserved for men only.
[4] In addition to Brennan, key leaders in the movement included Colleen O'Reilly Stewart (co-founder of Anglican Women Concerned), Eileen Baldry and Ruth Sturmey Jones.
[12] She was frequently quoted in media coverage on the topic of women and the church in Australia,[13][14] gaining her both acclaim and notoriety as a feminist Christian.
[4] Criticized and mocked by more conservative church leaders for her progressive views,[15] she was once depicted in a cartoon as holding an AK-47 and standing over the dead body of a male priest.
In 1985, she participated in a debate about women's ordination with the Revd John Fleming on a program called Pressure Point aired on the Australian Broadcasting Company television network.
According to historian Anne O'Brien, she earned a substantial amount of public support for women's ordination as a result of her strong debate performance.
A compromise was accepted by the general synod that same year that allowed individual diocese the freedom to ordain women as priests, but did not require all to do so.
Brennan eventually ceased attending Anglican services in the Diocese of Sydney due to its unwillingness to include women in the leadership of the church and in the ranks of the clergy.
[1] Brennan was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 1993, in recognition of her services to the community, particularly as founding president of the Movement for the Ordination of Women.