Women Bishops in the Church of England? A report of the House of Bishops’ Working Party on Women in the Episcopate Church House Publishing Published 2004 for the House of Bishops Church House of the General Synod of the Church of Great Smith Street England by Church House Publishing. London SW1P 3NZ Copyright © The Archbishops’ Council Tel: 020 7898 1451 2004 Fax: 020 7989 1449 Index copyright © Meg Davies 2004 ISBN 0 7151 4037 X All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or stored or GS 1557 transmitted by any means or in any form, electronic or mechanical, including Printed in England by photocopying, recording, or any information The Cromwell Press Ltd, storage and retrieval system without written Trowbridge, Wiltshire permission, which should be sought from the Copyright Administrator, The Archbishops’ Council, Church of England, Church House, Great Smith Street, London SW1P 3NZ. Email:
[email protected]. The Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA, and are used by permission. All rights reserved. iv Contents Membership of the Working Party vii Preface ix Foreword by the Chair of the Working Party xi 1. Introduction 1 2. Episcopacy in the Church of England 8 3. How should we approach the issue of whether women 66 should be ordained as bishops? 4. The development of women’s ministry 114 in the Church of England 5. Can it be right in principle for women to be consecrated as 136 bishops in the Church of England? 6.