I'm delighted at the news that the Church of England has approved women bishops. I see this as a kind of completion of something that began some twenty years ago when women were first ordained to the priesthood in England.
This also means, of course, that the Church of England has now joined other parts of the Communion in embracing women bishops: the US in 1988 with the ordination of Barbara Harris as the Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts and Canada in 1994 with the ordination of Victoria Matthews as the first Diocesan Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.
This also means, of course, that the Church of England has now joined other parts of the Communion in embracing women bishops: the US in 1988 with the ordination of Barbara Harris as the Suffragan Bishop of Massachusetts and Canada in 1994 with the ordination of Victoria Matthews as the first Diocesan Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada.
I see the movement of the Holy Spirit in this decision, and I give thanks for the Spirit's work in every generation as the Church continues to witness to Christ in new ways.
Coverage from THE GUARDIAN
Coverage from THE EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE