The Society, more fully The Society under the patronage of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda and formerly known as The Society of Saint Wilfrid and Saint Hilda, is an independent association of Church of England clergy and lay people which defines itself as "an ecclesial body, led by a Council of Bishops" which rejects the ordination of women. It is supported by Forward in Faith and administered by its director. [1]
The Society's stated purposes are:
- to promote and maintain catholic teaching and practice within the Church of England
- to provide episcopal oversight to which churches, institutions and individuals will freely submit themselves
- to guarantee a ministry in the historic apostolic succession in which they can have confidence
Plans for creation of The Society were announced on 24 September 2010, by a group of bishops of the Church of England who did not ordain women to the priesthood. This was in preparation for the new situation that would arise following the ordination of women to the episcopate. Its council of bishops began to meet regularly in 2013. [2] In 2014, its members appointed a bishop's representative for each diocese of the Church of England. [2] [3] Registration began in 2014 of male transitional or permanent deacons and female permanent deacons as "Deacons of The Society" and male priests as "Priests of The Society". [4]
The Society's council of bishops are Church of England bishops. The following bishops are currently on the council: [2]
Jonathan Goodall, former Bishop of Ebbsfleet joined the Roman Catholic Church in 2021. Mark Sowerby, former Bishop of Horsham, was previously a member of The Society and its council of bishops. In June 2015, he announced that he had changed his views on the ordination of women and resigned from the council. [5] [6]
Forward in Faith (FiF) is an organisation operating in the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church. It represents a traditionalist strand of Anglo-Catholicism and is characterised by its opposition to the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. It also takes a traditionalist line on other matters of doctrine. Credo Cymru is its counterpart in Wales. Forward in Faith North America (FIFNA) operates in the U.S.
A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests". The system by which such bishops oversee certain churches is referred to as alternative episcopal oversight (AEO).
John William Hind is an Anglo-Catholic theologian and former Bishop in Europe and Bishop of Chichester in the Church of England.
The College of the Resurrection, popularly known as Mirfield, is an Anglo-Catholic theological college of the Church of England in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, England.
Eric Waldram Kemp was a Church of England bishop. He was the Bishop of Chichester from 1974 to 2001. He was one of the leading Anglo-Catholics of his generation and one of the most influential figures in the Church of England in the last quarter of the twentieth century.
Roger Alan Jupp is a British Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Popondota from 2003 to 2005. He returned to parish ministry because of ill-health.
Michael Laurence Langrish is a retired English Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Exeter from 2000 to 2013.
Lindsay Goodall Urwin OGS is an Australian Anglican bishop. Urwin was the area Bishop of Horsham in the Diocese of Chichester, in southern England, from 1993 to 2009, and was also the principal organiser of the annual Caister Conference. He was the administrator of the Anglican Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham from 2009 to 2015. On 12 April 2015, his appointment was announced as vicar of Christ Church Brunswick in the Anglican Diocese of Melbourne, Australia. He was inducted on 15 September 2015.
John Frank Ford is a retired British Anglican bishop. From 2013 to 2019 he was the Bishop of The Murray in the Anglican Church of Australia. From 2005 to 2013, he was the Bishop of Plymouth, a suffragan see in the Diocese of Exeter, England.
Anthony William Robinson is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2015, he has been the area Bishop of Wakefield in the Diocese of Leeds. From 2002 to 2015, he served as Bishop of Pontefract in the Diocese of Wakefield.
Mark Crispin Rake Sowerby is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2019, he has been the Principal of the College of the Resurrection, Mirfield; he was previously Bishop of Horsham, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Chichester.
The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes over the ordination of women have contributed to the establishment and growth of progressive tendencies, such as the Anglican realignment and Continuing Anglican movements.
Martin Clive Warner is an Anglican bishop in England. He is currently the Bishop of Chichester.
Jonathan Mark Richard Baker is a bishop of the Church of England. He is currently the suffragan Bishop of Fulham and was formerly the Bishop of Ebbsfleet.
Philip John North is a bishop in the Church of England. Since April 2023, he has served as Bishop of Blackburn, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Blackburn. He was previously Bishop of Burnley, a suffragan bishop in the same diocese, since 2015; and team rector of the parish of Old St Pancras.
The history of Christianity in Sussex includes all aspects of the Christianity in the region that is now Sussex from its introduction to the present day. Christianity is the most commonly practised religion in Sussex.
Luke Thomas Irvine-Capel SSC is a British Anglican priest currently serving as Archdeacon of Chichester, a senior ecclesiastical role in the Church of England and the Diocese of Chichester.
William Peter Guy Hazlewood is a British Anglican bishop who has been the Bishop of Lewes since 2020. From 2011, he was Vicar of Dartmouth and Dittisham in the Diocese of Exeter.
Paul Richard Thomas SSC is a British Anglican bishop who has served as Bishop of Oswestry, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Lichfield and the provincial episcopal visitor for the western half of the Province of Canterbury since February 2023. From 2011, he was vicar of St James's Church, Paddington.
 | This Anglicanism-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about a Christian organization is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This article about an organisation in England is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
