Seeker

Oxford is where the House of Bishops of the Church of England will meet on Wednesday this week. They will all be men. There are no bishops who are female in the Church of England. It is illegal in England (but not now in Scotland) for a bishop to be a woman. I find this fact more and more shocking every time I think about it. How can this be so in a country where it is generally illegal to discriminate on grounds of gender in relation to job appointments?  The C of E is legally exempt from this in relation to bishops. The reasons behind that are complex, rooted in ecclesiastical culture and traditions that cling to male power in leadership, usually disguised in theological terms. This is odd when all deacons, priests and bishops in the Church of England swear an oath of allegiance to our supreme governor, HM Queen Elizabeth II. Yes, I know she is the temporal and not the spiritual leader of the church - but all the same - it is odd. The Church of England decided about 12 year...

Yesterday afternoon the House of Bishops of the Church of England concluded its consideration of the draft legislation to enable women to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England. I'm thankful that it agreed the legislation should be returned to General Synod for final approval.  Well, that much is clear - so long in coming, but so far so good. But here comes the fudge, or is it clarification? The House of Bishops had power (given by February 2012 General Synod) to amend the draft Bishops and Priest (Consecration and Ordination of Women) Measure "as it thinks fi t". It has now made 2 amendments. From the Church of England press release yesterday, here they are: "The House accepted an amendment making it clear that the use of the word "delegation" (in Clause 2 of the draft Measure) relates to the legal authority which a male bishop acting under a diocesan scheme would have and was distinct from the authority to exercise the funct...

How long will it be before women may serve as bishops in the Church of England on equal terms with bishops who happen to be male? 2014 or even later? In July 2008 General Synod (all 3 houses) decided to plan for the consecration of bishops who happen to be female, with safeguards in the form of a code of conduct to protect those who cannot accept the authority of a bishop who is a woman. Yesterday the Revision Committee published proposals (to be brought back to Synod) for statutory provision to be made for those who cannot accept women as bishops (or priests) and those who cannot accept the authority of a male bishop who ordains women. I cannot see how such leglislation can avoid creating a 2-tier episcopacy. I share the disappointment expressed by WATCH (Women and the Church) that this "would be demeaning to women and would fundamentally damage the office of bishop in our church. Were such proposals to pass through our church synods, the Church of England would be...