Reverend Libby Lane has been announced as the first female bishop for the Church of England. She will become the new Bishop of Stockport, a post that has been vacant since May 2014.
Lane has been the vicar at St Peter’s Hale and St Elizabeth’s Ashley, in the diocese of Chester, since 2007.
The general synod voted to back plans for female bishops in July and formally adopted legislation to back it up on November 17.
The appointment will end centuries of male leadership of the Church and comes 20 years after women became priests.
Lane was ordained a deacon in 1993 and a priest in 1994, serving her curacy in Blackburn, Lancashire. Since 2010 she has also held the role of Dean of Women in Ministry for the diocese of Chester.
The new Bishop said, “I’m honored and thankful to be called to serve as the next Bishop of Stockport and not a little daunted to be entrusted with such a ministry.”
Prime Minister David Cameron congratulated Lane. “This is an historic appointment and an important step forward for the Church towards greater equality in its senior positions,” he said.
Lane will be consecrated as the eighth bishop of the town at a ceremony at York Minster on January 26.
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