While the Church of England struggles over whether or not to allow women to be bishops, the Episcopal Church is celebrating the 25th anniversary of the consecration of the Rt Rev Barbara Harris. From the Church of England, it will be at a minimum the end of this year before anything will be decided.
For some it might be a case of déjà vu; for others it’s a new day as the Church of England cleared a major hurdle Feb. 11 giving its assent to new legislation that would enable women to become bishops.
Meeting in Westminster, the church’s General Synod supported legislation “enabling women, as well as men, to be consecrated to the office of bishop if they otherwise satisfy the requirements of Canon Law as to the persons who may be consecrated as bishops.”
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The declaration, which synod welcomed on Feb. 11, lists five guiding principles acknowledging that the Church of England has reached a clear decision on the matter; accepting that there will be those who disagree with the decision; and committing to maintaining the highest degree of communion through “pastoral and sacramental provision for the minority.”
Meanwhile The Episcopal Church celebrates Bishop Harris and all the women who have served as bishops in this part of the communion.
The world was watching–and a congregation of about 8,000 was present at Hynes Auditorium in Boston–on Feb. 11, 1989, when Barbara C. Harris became the first woman consecrated a bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. This photo gallery marks the 25th anniversary of that occasion with some favorite images from across the years.
Photo taken from the balcony by Ann Fontaine at the consecration
Below is a list of all the women consecrated bishop in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Church
1989-2003 Suffragan Bishop Barbara C. Harris, Massachusetts (USA)
1990-2004 Bishop Penelope Ann Bansall Jaimeson, Dunedin (New Zealand)
1992-2001 Suffragan Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon, Washington D.C. (USA)
2001-02 Acting Bishop of the Diocese
1993-2001 Bishop Mary Adelia McLeod, Vermont (USA)
1994-97 Suffragan Bishop Victoria Matthews, Toronto (Canada)
1997-2007 Bishop of Edmonton
2007-08 Bishop in Residence at Wycliffe College, an Anglican seminary at the University of Toronto
2008- Bishop of Christchurch (New Zealand and Polynesia)
1996- Bishop Geralyn Wolf, Rhode Island (USA)
1996- Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish, Utah (USA)
1996- Suffragan Bishop Catherine S. Roskam, New York (USA)
1997- Bishop Catherine Eliz Maples Waynick, Indianapolis (USA)
1997- Suffragan Bishop Ann E Tottenham, Toronto (Canada)
1998- Bishop Chilton Abbie Richardson Knudsen, Maine (USA)
2001-06 Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Nevada (USA)
2006- Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States
2002-07 Suffragan Bishop Carol Joy Gallagher, Southern Virginia (USA)
2003- Suffragan Bishop Gayle Elizabeth Harris, Massachusetts (USA)
The 14. female Bishop in the Episcopal, Anglican Church in the USA.
2005- Suffragan Bishop Bavi Edna “Nedi” Rivera Olympia (USA)
2006- Suffragan Bishop Dena Harrison, Austin-Waco Region (USA)
2007- Suffragan Bishop Nerva Cot Aguilera, Cuba
2007- Suffragan Bishop Laura Ahrens, Connecticut (USA)
2007- Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real (USA)
2007- Bishop Sue Moxley, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (Canada)
2008- Assistant Bishop Kay Goldsworthy, Western Australia (Australia)
2008- Bishop The Very Revd Jane Alexander, Edmonton (Canada)
Acting Bishop 2007-08 after the resignation of Victoria Matthews. It was the first time a woman diocesan bishop has followed another woman in the Anglican church.
2008- Suffragan Bishop Linda Nicholls, Toronto, (Canada)
2008- Assistant Bishop Revd Canon Barbara Darling, Melbourne (Australia)
2010 Suffragan Bishop Diane M. Jardine Bruce, Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (USA)
2010 Suffragan Bishop Mary D. Glasspool , Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles (USA)
First openly lesbian bishop the diocese.
2011 Bishop Mariann Budde, Diocese of Washington (DC)
2012- Bishop Ellinah Wamukoya, Swaziland
2012 Suffragan Bishop Susan Goff, Diocese of Virginia
2013 Bishop Pat Storey of Meath and Kildare in the Church of Ireland
2013 Suffragan Bishop Anne Elliott Hodges-Copple, Diocese of North Carolina
2013, the Church of South India (CSI) Bishop E. Pushpa Lalitha as the first female bishop in India.