Church of England names first female bishop to sit in the House of Lords

The first woman bishop to sit in the House of Lords has been appointed by the Church of England.

The Venerable Rachel Treweek, Archdeacon of Hackney, said she was "overjoyed" to be named the new Bishop of Gloucester.

The 52-year-old former speech therapist is the UK’s third woman bishop but the first diocesan bishop – a more senior position than the junior, or suffragan, posts two women have so far been given.

Ven Treweek, who believes that men and women should serve “side by side” in the highest offices of the Church, studied linguistics at Reading University before becoming a priest.

Her husband Guy, is a priest-in-charge of two parishes in the City of London.

Ven Treweek is expected to take her place as the first female Lord Spiritual in the upper chamber this summer.

Speaking at a farm near Cirencester in Gloucestershire, she she hoped her appointment would become "normal" in the Church.

"All through my life I've felt that it is very important that everyone can be the person they are called to be," she said.

"I hope that - while today is incredibly special and I feel enormously humbled to be here - this will become something normal in the Church of England.

"I hope that we will see bishops who are men and women, we'll see parish priests who are men and women and we'll see laity - who are out there today doing amazing things - being the people that God has called them to be."

Legislation to fast-track women bishops into the House of Lords was introduced to Parliament in December.

The bill suspended rules governing appointments of bishops to the Lords for 10 years to allow future female bishops to leap-frog their male colleagues into the upper house.

On Wednesday, the Rev Canon Alison White, 58, was named the new Bishop of Hull, creating the UK's first husband and wife team of bishops.

Rev Canon White is married to the Right Rev Frank White, who is the assistant Bishop of Newcastle.

She said she was looking forward to swapping notes with Bishop Libby Lane, who became the Church of England's first female bishop when she was consecrated as the eighth Bishop of Stockport in January.

She added: "Won't that be wonderful when, in the best sense, it isn't newsworthy because we're women, it's newsworthy because of what we're called into. It's step by step in making it business as usual."

Neither the Bishop of Stockport nor the Bishop of Hull can enter the Lords as the post is a junior, or suffragan, see.

Ven Treweek was a vicar in East London and then Archdeacon of Northolt, a position she held for five years before becoming Archdeacon of Hackney.

The Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, said: “As Richard of Gloucester is reinterred, Rachel of Gloucester is revealed. Rachel has served her entire ministry in the Diocese of London, excelling wherever she has been. She has twice acted as Archdeacon, in Northolt and then Hackney – two highly demanding and contrasting areas where she has shone in equal measure.

“As well as operating with great effectiveness from North West to East London, Rachel has been central to the story of growth in this Diocese. Prominent in the launch of our blueprint for the future, Capital Vision 2020, she has played a pivotal role in our strategic plans, particularly in driving towards our target of commissioning 100,000 young ambassadors to Jesus Christ by 2020.

“While we are very sorry to see her go, Gloucester has appointed someone with real quality and distinction. We look forward to continuing to support her in the years to come.”

Ven Treweek replaces Bishop Michael Perham, who retired as Bishop of Gloucester last November following two allegations of indecent assault.

He was interviewed under caution but was not arrested and police have since said no further action will be taken.