Tynwald has given its official blessing to the ordination of women bishops.
Following hot on the heels of the UK’s change in the law which saw the first female bishop appointed in Stockport recently, the court voted unanimously in support of the move.
The motion was proposed by David Anderson MHK for Glenfaba and seconded by Douglas west MHK Chris Thomas.
‘We all watched the first female bishop being consecrated in Stockport so it is a historic day,’ said Douglas south MHK David Cretney, who congratulated the bishop and members of the island’s Ecclesiastical Committee for their work.
Noting he had been photographed on the front of many national papers at the inauguration of the Reverend Libby Lane at York Minster, Bishop Robert Paterson said: ‘You don’t spend 21 months working with John Sentamu without learing how to get to the front of the queue!’
He told fellow politicians Tynwald was way ahead of rival jurisdictions in adopting the change, adding: ‘The Channel Islands have still got months ahead before they get there.’
East Douglas MHK Brenda Cannell also voiced her approval, adding it was the equality message spread beyond the church to other walks of life, including Tynwald.
‘I would hope every member of this court will support this. Of the three reports before us, this one is the shortest. It’s only 10 pages, yet to my mind it is the most important.
‘I would like to see a female bishop and I would also like to see more females appointed as ministers in the next administration, and more female candidates coming forward for election to the House of Keys,’ she said.
‘Women have an extremely important part to play in the church and in government. They deserve equality and it’s time some of the members started to afford some of the respect to us that they afford to their own gender.’
Adding his support, Health Minister Howard Quayle said: ‘It’s nice to see the Church of England catching up with the Methodists.
‘According to the old saying, any woman who wants to be equal to a man shows a lack of ambition.’