Libby Lane: First female bishop to be consecrated

48-year-old Libby Lane has been ordained as first female bishop at York Minster in front of more than 1,000 people.

07:55 27 January 2015

The Church of England has consecrated Libby Lane – its very first female bishop - at York Minster in front of more than 1,000 people following the approval of legislation that allows women bishops last November. The move ends a centuries-old tradition of exclusively male bishops.

The two-hour service that was led by Dr John Sentamu was interrupted by a man who shouted “not in the Bible” after the congregation was asked if Reverend Lane should be ordained as a bishop.  However, the process of being holy was completed after nobody opposed when DrSentamu asked the same question the second time. The service ended with him and the other bishops laying their hands on Mrs Lane as they prayed.

Mrs Lane previously said: "It is a remarkable thing that this happens to me, and people have been very supportive of me personally, but actually this is about a moment in the Church's history."

She added that it would be "a very profound, remarkable moment for me then and for my future ministry.”

Mrs Lane was a Vicar of St Peter’s Hale and St Elizabeth’s Ashely in Greater Manchester. In 1993, she was ordained as a deacon and as a priest a year later. She served her curacy at St James’s Church in Blackburn.

Her consecration comes more than 20 years after women were allowed to become priests in the Church of England.