First woman bishop for Iceland: The Church of England Newspaper, July 1, 2012 p 6.

The National Church of Iceland, the Þjóðkirkjan — a partner of the Church of England under the Porvoo Agreement – will consecrate its first woman bishop at its general synod in Reykjavik on 24 June 2012.

Last month the church held a second round of voting via postal ballot between the top two vote-getters, the Rev. Agnes Sigurðardóttir of Bolungarvík and the Rev. Sigurður Árni Þórðarson of Reykjavik.  All licensed clergy and eligible theological students were asked to vote in the election.  Mrs. Sigurðardóttir received 64.3 per cent of the votes cast against Mr. Þórðarson’s 31.9 per cent.

In a statement released after her election the new bishop said her first task “will be to listen, to hear the voices of people who work in different fields within the church, show concern and create solidarity on having the gospel reach the people.”

The outgoing Bishop of Iceland, the Rt. Rev. Karl Sigurbjörnsson, who retires on 30 June 2012, welcomed the election of Mrs. Sigurðardóttir.  “These are good and conclusive results. Now the church will rally behind the new bishop,” he said.

First printed in The Church of England Newspaper.

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