From The Conversation-The Episcopal Church has decided to revise its 1979 prayer book, so that God is no longer referred to by masculine pronouns.
The prayer book, first published in 1549 and now in its fourth edition, is the symbol of unity for the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion founded in 1867. While there is no clear timeline for the changes, religious leaders at the denomination’s recent triennial conference in Austin have agreed to a demand to replace the masculine terms for God such as “He” and “King” and “Father.”
Indeed, early Christian writings and texts, all refer to God in feminine terms.
As a scholar of Christian origins and gender theory, I’ve studied the early references to God.
In Genesis, for example, women and men are created in the “Imago Dei,” image of God, which suggests that God transcends socially constructed notions of gender. Furthermore, Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible written in the seventh century B.C., states that God gave birth to Israel.
In the oracles of the eighth century prophet Isaiah, God is described as a woman in labor and a mother comforting her children.
More here-
https://theconversation.com/what-the-early-church-thought-about-gods-gender-100077
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