Question

To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, how many parishes in the Church of England in England reject the ministry of women.

The House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests makes provision for parishes to pass resolutions where their theological conviction leads them to seek the priestly or episcopal ministry of men. The most recent information held centrally by the National Church Institutions is contained on page 32 of the Mission Statistics 2020, the full details of which can be found here: Ministry Statistics 2020 report FINAL.pdf (churchofengland.org)

There were 590 parishes in which a resolution under the House of Bishops’ Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests had been passed at the end of 2020. These parishes account for 4.8% of all parishes. The breakdown is shown in Figure 24 of the Mission Statistics 2020.