The first woman to be consecrated a bishop in the Anglican Communion has passed away aged 89. 

The Rt Rev Barbara C Harris died on March 13 at the Care Dimensions Hospice House in Lincoln, Massachusetts. 

She served as a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Massachusetts, in the US Episcopal Church, from 1989 until her retirement in 2002. 

Announcing her death, the Bishop of Massachusetts, the Rt Rev Alan Gates expressed his "deep sadness" over her passing. 

"Our hearts are truly heavy at the loss of one who has been a faithful and altogether irrepressible companion, pastor and inspiration to us in the Diocese of Massachusetts for 31 years," he said.

"At the same time our hearts are truly buoyed by the hope which she preached and the conviction she embodied for us throughout all these years." 

Arrangements are being made for a public funeral service to be held at Washington National Cathedral and a private graveside service in Philadelphia, followed by a memorial service at the Cathedral Church of St Paul in Boston. 

Bishop Gates said that the Church would hold off setting dates for the timebeing in light of restrictions on travel and large gatherings caused by the coronavirus outbreak. 

He added: "With regret but with confidence, we entrust our beloved sister Barbara to that merciful and compassionate God, just as she invited us to do."