Women welcomed

The path is now clear for women to rise to the leadership of the Anglican Church across the Caribbean.

Anglican Bishop Michael Maxwell, told members of the media during a press conference at the Cathedral of St Michael and All Angels, that during the recent Provincial Synod in Trinidad and Tobago there was approved amendments to the Constitution on Canons of the Province, opening up the opportunity for women to be nominated and appointed as Bishops.

“So dioceses are now free to actually be able to elect a female Bishop. If that person is elected they have the free will to go ahead and have a female Bishop within their dioceses. And so that has been one of the resolutions coming out of the House of Bishops.

“It is basically stating that when there is the next time for the election of a new Bishop, that indeed a female priest can offer herself for that position. And then again it would be up to the body of Synod, whether or not they get the two-thirds majority both lay persons and clergy in support of that individual before that is possible,” the Bishop further explained.

During the Provincial Synod, which started on May 26 and lasted for five days, Diocesan Bishop from Jamaica, Howard Gregory, was elected as the 13th Archbishop of the Province to replace former Archbishop John Holder, who retired from active service in February 2018.

The Bishop also announced that the dioceses would make an urgent financial contribution within the next two months to the financial stability of Codrington College. He said the St John-based theological college was under severe financial pressure due to the current economic climate.

“Because of the economic climate and so forth, it has been resolved at the Provincial Synod, that all the dioceses within the next two months, will offer some substantial financial support to prop up and to assist the college at this point in time,” the Bishop said.

Bishop Maxwell also indicated that with the crisis in Venezuela impacting on some of the dioceses, particularly Trinidad and Guyana, the Provincial Synod supported the decision taken by CARICOM for a peaceful solution to the crisis without external interference in the matters of the South American nation.

“And for neighbouring dioceses as well to offer as much positive Christian support to the human need of any Venezuelan migrant that may come within the dioceses,” he said.
anestahenry@barbadostoday.bb