The decision of the House of Bishops of the Church in Wales to discontinue the role of Provincial Assistant Bishop for those who in conscience cannot accept the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate will have inevitable consequences in the Church of England. We are repeatedly told that the future for those opposed to women’s ordination is one of trust in provisions made and confidence that our position will be respected and upheld by the majority. To describe the role of a Provincial Assistant bishop – one effectively brokered by the Archbishop of Canterbury when he was Bishop of Monmouth - as ‘unnecessary and inconsistent with Anglican ecclesiology’, as the Archbishop of Wales has done, is deliberately to undermine both that trust and Dr Williams’ leadership of the Anglican Communion during this time of crisis.

Geoffrey Kirk

Secretary

Forward in Faith