STOCKPORT, Dec 17 : The Church of England on Wednesday named vicar Libby Lane as its first female bishop, following a historic change in its rules.
Lane was named as the next bishop of Stockport, in a dramatic new step for England's state church after years of wrangling and division over the move.
"It is an unexpected joy for
me to be here today," Lane said after being named in Stockport, a town outside Manchester in northwest England.     ? AFP