Dr Penny Jamieson
English-born New Zealander Penny Jamieson was the first woman in the world to be ordained a bishop of the Anglican Church
World's first female Anglican bishop appointed
Dr Penny Jamieson’s rise through church ranks was rapid. Women had first been ordained to the Anglican priesthood in 1977. Jamieson was ordained and appointed to a Wellington parish in 1985. She was elected by her peers to the see of Dunedin just five years later.
Born in England, she married New Zealander Ian Jamieson and moved with him to Wellington. There she worked with the Wellington City Mission while writing her doctoral thesis. It was during this time that she developed a vocation to the priesthood.
