Rev Libby Lane is to be consecrated as the Church of England's first woman bishop today.
Other Anglican Churches have had women as bishops for many years, but the journey to this moment for the C of E has been particularly long and painful. Lane's consecration marks the end of a tortuous process of theological and procedural negotiation which has left divisions which are arguably still unresolved.
Disputes since the General Synod agreed in 2005 that "the process for removing the legal obstacles to the ordination of women to the episcopate should now be set in train" have focused on accommodating the beliefs of members of the Church of England would not accept the episcopal ministry of women. There was widespread anger when a 2012 attempt to pass the legislation at the Synod narrowly failed.
Speaking when the announcement of her appointment was made, she said: "I am grateful for, though somewhat daunted by, the confidence placed in me by the Diocese of Chester. This is unexpected and very exciting."
Lane will be consecrated at York Minster as the suffragan Bishop of Stockport under the Bishop of Chester.
She was ordained as a deacon in 1993 and as a priest the following year, and has ministered in parishes and in chaplaincy roles in the dioceses of Blackburn, York and Chester. For the past eight years she has served as Vicar of St Peter's Hale and St Elizabeth's Ashley.
Lane has served as the Dean of Women in Ministry in the Chester diocese since 2010.
