Bill to pave way for women bishops
-02/03/06
A bill is to be introduced to the House of
Bill to pave way for women bishops
-02/03/06
A bill is to be introduced to the House of Commons that would pave the way for the consecration of women bishops in the Church of England.
Ekklesia has learned that the Bishops (Consecration of Women) Bill will be introduced in two weeks time by Chris Bryant MP, who was himself ordained, and formerly a curate in the Church of England.
The MP, who is a former chair of the Christian Socialist Movement of which Prime Minister Tony Blair is also a member, is proposing the amendment of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 which currently makes it unlawful for women to become bishops.
Bryant told Ekklesia that the new bill was aimed at the removal of the legal bar on women bishops and could be an important indication of Parliamentary support for a move by the Church of England to allow their consecration.
Bryant has made no secret of his support for women bishops. Speaking in the House of Commons previously Mr Bryant said; “Men and women are equal. They should be equal under the law and, for that matter, in religion. We look forward to women being ordained as bishops and the Church agreeing to that.”
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Due to the relationship between church and state, Parliamentary measures were required in the early 1990s to make it lawful for the General Synod of the Church of England to ordain women priests. However the bar on women becoming bishops remained in place.
Parliament cannot force the Church to consecrate women bishops, but the proposal which Bryant is putting forward may trigger a vote in the House of Commons, which would give an important indication of the extent of Parliamentary support for such a move.
The measure is particularly controversial as MPs have usually stayed out of Church business unless requests have been made by the Church for the House of Commons to act. However some MPs see the legal bar on women becoming bishops as an issue of equality and justice, and feel that an established church should not have special privileges of opting out of equality legislation.
The introduction of the bill comes a month after the Church of England’s ‘parliament’, the General Synod, overwhelmingly backed consideration of a compromise plan that could see the ordination of women bishops by 2012.
The bill also comes at a time when the relationship between church and state is being increasingly called into question. Last month it was reported that Gordon Brown is planning to return the power to choose bishops to the Church of England for the first time since the reign of Henry VIII.
The bill is scheduled to be introduced in the House of Commons on 21st March.
Bill to pave way for women bishops
-02/03/06
A bill is to be introduced to the House of Commons that would pave the way for the consecration of women bishops in the Church of England.
Ekklesia has learned that the Bishops (Consecration of Women) Bill will be introduced in two weeks time by Chris Bryant MP, who was himself ordained, and formerly a curate in the Church of England.
The MP, who is a former chair of the Christian Socialist Movement of which Prime Minister Tony Blair is also a member, is proposing the amendment of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 which currently makes it unlawful for women to become bishops.
Bryant told Ekklesia that the new bill was aimed at the removal of the legal bar on women bishops and could be an important indication of Parliamentary support for a move by the Church of England to allow their consecration.
Bryant has made no secret of his support for women bishops. Speaking in the House of Commons previously Mr Bryant said; “Men and women are equal. They should be equal under the law and, for that matter, in religion. We look forward to women being ordained as bishops and the Church agreeing to that.”
Related Articles
Due to the relationship between church and state, Parliamentary measures were required in the early 1990s to make it lawful for the General Synod of the Church of England to ordain women priests. However the bar on women becoming bishops remained in place.
Parliament cannot force the Church to consecrate women bishops, but the proposal which Bryant is putting forward may trigger a vote in the House of Commons, which would give an important indication of the extent of Parliamentary support for such a move.
The measure is particularly controversial as MPs have usually stayed out of Church business unless requests have been made by the Church for the House of Commons to act. However some MPs see the legal bar on women becoming bishops as an issue of equality and justice, and feel that an established church should not have special privileges of opting out of equality legislation.
The introduction of the bill comes a month after the Church of England’s ‘parliament’, the General Synod, overwhelmingly backed consideration of a compromise plan that could see the ordination of women bishops by 2012.
The bill also comes at a time when the relationship between church and state is being increasingly called into question. Last month it was reported that Gordon Brown is planning to return the power to choose bishops to the Church of England for the first time since the reign of Henry VIII.
The bill is scheduled to be introduced in the House of Commons on 21st March.