The Church of England will shatter its “stained-glass ceiling” by voting in favour of appointing female bishops.
The Anglican General Synod is expected to approve legislation allowing women to be nominated and chosen for the senior posts, 20 years after the first female priests were ordained. The first female bishop could be appointed next year.
The move has been welcomed by long-term campaigners for change, who see it as the first step towards widening female participation in the church.
Hilary Cotton, chairwoman of Women and the Church (Watch), said she would like to see women ultimately make up a third of bishops – around 40 posts – “in order to make a difference”.
She said: “Until we get to around a third it doesn’t change the culture, or it is much harder to change it. It is not just about having women wearing purple, it is about changing the culture of the church to be more equal. It is exciting but I hope that in a few years it will be more normal for women to be appointed bishops.”
The first diocese vacancy to come up after the canon law is changed will be Southwell and Nottingham, after the Rt Rev Paul Butler was appointed as bishop of Durham. It will be followed by Gloucester, Oxford and Newcastle.
Several priests whose names have been suggested as the first female bishops include the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, dean of York Minster, and the Very Rev June Osborne, dean of Salisbury Cathedral.
The first women were ordained in 1994 in the Church of England and they now make up about a third of clergy. The plan to allow them to stand as bishops was derailed by just six votes cast by lay members in November 2012, causing bitter recriminations within the Church of England and prompting threats of an intervention by parliament.
In July the General Synod overwhelmingly backed legislation to introduce the first female bishops in the Church of England, and Monday’s vote in London will rubber stamp the move.
In October the church said positive discrimination could be used to install “under-represented” female bishops in diocese.
Synod member Christina Rees, who has campaigned for women in the church for 25 years, said women should eventually make up a high proportion of senior roles.
She said: “As far as I am concerned, by Tuesday any bishop can pick up the phone to a woman and say: ‘I would like you to be my next suffragan.’ I don’t see the problem with a quick appointment of a [female] suffragan but of course it would be exciting if the first was a diocesan. The stained-glass ceiling is finally being shattered.”
The Anglican General Synod is expected to approve legislation allowing women to be nominated and chosen for the senior posts, 20 years after the first female priests were ordained. The first female bishop could be appointed next year.
The move has been welcomed by long-term campaigners for change, who see it as the first step towards widening female participation in the church.
Hilary Cotton, chairwoman of Women and the Church (Watch), said she would like to see women ultimately make up a third of bishops – around 40 posts – “in order to make a difference”.
She said: “Until we get to around a third it doesn’t change the culture, or it is much harder to change it. It is not just about having women wearing purple, it is about changing the culture of the church to be more equal. It is exciting but I hope that in a few years it will be more normal for women to be appointed bishops.”
The first diocese vacancy to come up after the canon law is changed will be Southwell and Nottingham, after the Rt Rev Paul Butler was appointed as bishop of Durham. It will be followed by Gloucester, Oxford and Newcastle.
Several priests whose names have been suggested as the first female bishops include the Very Rev Vivienne Faull, dean of York Minster, and the Very Rev June Osborne, dean of Salisbury Cathedral.
The first women were ordained in 1994 in the Church of England and they now make up about a third of clergy. The plan to allow them to stand as bishops was derailed by just six votes cast by lay members in November 2012, causing bitter recriminations within the Church of England and prompting threats of an intervention by parliament.
In July the General Synod overwhelmingly backed legislation to introduce the first female bishops in the Church of England, and Monday’s vote in London will rubber stamp the move.
In October the church said positive discrimination could be used to install “under-represented” female bishops in diocese.
Synod member Christina Rees, who has campaigned for women in the church for 25 years, said women should eventually make up a high proportion of senior roles.
She said: “As far as I am concerned, by Tuesday any bishop can pick up the phone to a woman and say: ‘I would like you to be my next suffragan.’ I don’t see the problem with a quick appointment of a [female] suffragan but of course it would be exciting if the first was a diocesan. The stained-glass ceiling is finally being shattered.”
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