First female bishop in NSW and Canberra consecrated

April 2, 2012

has become the third woman bishop in  and the 31st in the world. On Saturday, Blackwell was consecrated in in the state of  (NSW), Australia as the Regional Bishop of. She was first ordained nineteen years ago.



Blackwell is quoted as saying "It is a great thing that the gifts of women are being recognised and confirmed”.

The appointment is controversial because the Anglican Archbishop of Sydney and Metropolitan of the Province of NSW, Peter Jensen, whose role it is to lead the service, opposes the ordination of female bishops.

Jensen asked the Bishop of Newcastle to represent him at the service. The Diocese of Sydney does not agree with most of the rest of the country’s dioceses, so there were no Sydney bishops present among the 18 who consecrated Blackwell.