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The Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, who in 2021 was elected to become the first female bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.he Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, which is still in the midst of a yearslong legal battle with a breakaway group over several church properties, has elected its first female bishop. The Rev. Canon Ruth Woodliff-Stanley won the election on the second ballot at a special meeting of the convention held by the diocese on Saturday, beating out four other candidates. On the second ballot, Woodliff-Stanley received 13 votes in the Lay Order, which required at least 10 votes...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has re-elected their first female presiding bishop, the Reverend Elizabeth A. Eaton, by a large margin. At a vote taken on Tuesday at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, the Rev. Eaton won re-election on the first ballot, receiving 725 votes out of the 897 votes cast, or 81.19 percent. “We're church, church first,” stated Eaton in her address to the Churchwide Assembly following the election results. “Our lives are not only supported but our lives are surrounded, and our lives have their basis and meaning in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.” “And especially...

Which offense is more serious? Denying a lesbian communion at a Catholic funeral? Or a female Episcopalian bishop hitting and killing a bicyclist? The Washington Post has picked (A). In 2012, they splashed across the front page (with a picture) that lesbian activist Barbara Johnson was denied communion at her mother's funeral. On December 30, the Post buried a hit-and-run-bishop story on page B5 with the headline “Bishop put on leave after fatal crash: Episcopal diocese says Heather Cook drove car that killed bicyclist.” .......

The first woman bishop in the Church of England could be in the Gloucester diocese, a senior clergyman has said. The archdeacon of Cheltenham's comments came during an open meeting where some 70 people shared their views on what qualities the new bishop should have. The Venerable Robert Springett said he felt the likelihood was "really pretty high" as the diocese could now pick the best person regardless of gender. The Right Reverend Michael Perham, stepped back as bishop in August. He had been due to retire in November. He was interviewed by the Metropolitan Police investigating two allegations of...

The nation’s largest Lutheran group elected its first woman as presiding bishop on Wednesday. The Rev. Elizabeth Eaton was chosen as head of the liberal-leaning Evangelical Lutheran Church in America during its national legislative meeting in Pittsburgh. Eaton won on the fifth ballot with 600 votes, defeating the incumbent, the Rev. Mark Hanson, who is finishing his second six-year term. Hanson received 287 votes. Eaton, a bishop from the northeastern Ohio district, is taking over leadership of the more than 4 million-member denomination at a time of major transition. In 2009, the denomination cleared the way for openly gay and...

Washington Episcopal Bishop Marianne Budde, writing in her blog on the subject of Resurrection, opined that if someone were to discover a tomb with Jesus' remains in it, the entire enterprise would not come crashing down. VOL: Actually, Bishop it would. Our faith would be in vain and we would be of all men (and women) most miserable. St. Paul writes in I Cor. 15, "For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day...

As I stood in front of the new Mormon Temple in Liberty, Mo., it struck me as ironic that close to 175 years ago, Mormons were forced out of this same state. Whereas the Missouri public once urged their governor to force Joseph Smith and his followers out of the area surrounding Kansas City, Mormons began to return to the region in the 1900s, eventually gathering in such large numbers that the Church organization decided the region needed a temple. Which is why I came to visit. Latter Day Saints restrict temple access to members of their denomination who...

Seven years after the Episcopal Church caused an uproar by consecrating its first openly gay bishop, it has done the same thing again -- only this time with a woman. The Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool, of Baltimore, was ordained and consecrated on Saturday, making her the second openly gay bishop in church history and one of the first two female bishops in the Diocese of Los Angeles' 114-year history. Breakaway Episcopal conservatives have formed a rival church, the Anglican Church in North America. Several overseas Anglicans have been pressuring Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, spiritual leader of the world's 77...

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made it clear Friday night that she will direct The Episcopal Church to move ahead to reconstitute the Diocese of San Joaquin and to establish control over church property swiftly. In addition, she said, she intends to begin the process of revising the denomination’s canons to allow it to deal more expeditiously with breakaway bishops.   “I expect to see revisions to the canons to deal with situations like the one that you have been living with in San Joaquin for several years,” she said.   The Presiding Bishop spoke at a question-and-answer session at...

THE Anglican Church descended into "ecclesiastical anarchy" last night as American traditionalists refused to accept the authority of a woman and asked the Archbishop of Canterbury to lead them instead. Liberals celebrated the election of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church while the traditionalist Fort Worth Diocese appealed to Dr Rowan Williams for "alternative primatial oversight". The appeal, being mulled over at Lambeth Palace, is expected to be the first of several. It represents the first formal step towards a schism that evangelicals say began with the consecration of the openly gay Gene Robinson as...

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Nevada Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori became the first woman to lead any church in the global Anglican Communion when she was elected Sunday to be the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. The choice of Jefferts Schori may worsen — and could even splinter — the already difficult relations between the American denomination and its fellow Anglicans. Episcopalians have been sparing with many in the other 37 Anglican provinces over homosexuality, but a female leader adds a new layer of complexity to the already troubled relationship. Only two other Anglican provinces — New Zealand and Canada —...

<p>LONDON — The Church of England might have to split in two if women become bishops — one with female clergy and one without, an official report has concluded.</p> <p>An enclave for opponents of female priests could be created to avert a mass exodus when women are consecrated, possibly within five years.</p>