On Saturday faithful Anglicans and well-wishers gathered at Bristol Cathedral for a farewell service for the Right Reverend Vivienne Faull, the outgoing Bishop of Bristol.
Bishop Faull announced her intention to retire in February, but remained in post until 1 September.
The Very Reverend Dr Mandy Ford, Dean of Bristol paid tribute to Bishop Faull, saying she had “been an inspiration to women in ministry since the 1980s”.
"She has been in senior leadership in the Church of England for as long as I have been ordained, and has held those roles with wisdom, resilience and fortitude," she said.
"I am particularly grateful to Bishop Viv for her encouragement over the years, firstly in the Diocese of Leicester, and most recently in Bristol.”
Reverend Ford said she was praying that Faull and her husband would have “more time to enjoy the wonders of Creation”, adding that all in the cathedral and diocese were praying for them.
Faull was the first female chaplain of an Oxbridge college, before becoming the first woman to lead a cathedral - in Leicester, the first female Dean of York, and the first female Bishop of Bristol.
She truly represents the first wave of ordained women in the Church of England. Women were permitted to receive ordination as deacons in the CofE in 1987, with the first female priests being ordained in 1994. Faull was ordained as a deacon in 1987 and as a priest in 1994.
She was also lauded for being a strong campaigner against modern slavery, a cause she has often taken up in the House of Lords.
The farewell service concluded with Faull taking the diocesan crozier and handing it to the Vice Dean, who then placed it on the high altar, indicating an end to her ministry.
No successor has yet been appointed, although the Bishop of Swindon, the Right Reverend Neil Warwick, will be the acting diocesan bishop. A consultation across the diocese has began as part of the process of choosing the next bishop.
Reverend Warwick said, “I am deeply grateful for the transformative impact Bishop Viv has had on our Diocese and our communities - leading us with vision, compassion, and hope - always reminding us to listen to people on the margins, to less heard voices.
"Viv has lived out the call made at a Bishop’s consecration to: ‘proclaim the gospel boldly, confront injustice and work for righteousness and peace in all the world.'
"Personally, thank you, Bishop, for your unwavering investment in my vocation as Archdeacon and Bishop - your guidance, wisdom, and example have profoundly and positively shaped my ministry.”
