The Church of Norway has established the office of Presiding Bishop, and the first person to hold that position is a woman. She is Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien.
Her appointment means that for the first time, the Porvoo Communion will have a primate who is a woman. Meanwhile another member of the Porvoo Communion, the Church of England, has not decided whether women may be bishops although the handwriting is on the wall. Meanwhile, if one visits she cannot wear her mitre. In the Anglican Communion some male primates have refused to have communion with that communion’s only female primate, or even to be in the same room with her.
David Hamid, suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Europe opines:
The Church of Norway has made a bold move as it establishes the office of permanent Presiding Bishop. The Church has appointed Bishop Helga Haugland Byfuglien to this new office. Bishop Helga thus becomes the first woman “Primate” of a Church within the Porvoo Communion of Churches. As the Church of Norway is the state Church Bishop Helga was chosen by the Minister for Church affairs after the unanimous recommendation from the Bishops’ Conference and the National Church Council.
…. The official inauguration of the new office and the appointment of the new bishop will be celebrated in the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim on Sunday, 2nd October.
In a related development, on April 1st Bishop Byfuglien ruled passive members of the church could no longer vote in church elections. According to a news report, Church Passive lose voting rights, “At least three times before Election Day 12 September vote seekers must reconcile themselves to worship. The new attendance must be certified by a priest, sexton or parish council chairman after each service.”