Over the past five years, because of various messages and statements coming out of Diocesan House and in particular from the four bishops (EG the 'Ad Clerum' -- note to clergy of 2018), demonstrating a clear departure from biblical teaching on human sexuality, the clergy of St Ebbe's Oxford, St Mary's Maidenhead, Arborfield and Barkham and St Paul's Banbury, have been meeting with Bishop of Oxford to try and find a way of continuing to minister as orthodox churches in the diocese.

Croft focusses on the notion of fruit in the passage. He says that 'the view that it is wrong to bless same-sex unions, to allow clergy to marry their civil partners, and to prohibit clergy and ordinands from an active sexual relationship' produces bad fruit.

Currently, according to canon law, no Church of England minister can bless or marry gay couples.

However, a number of other senior clergy, including bishops, have joined Bishop Croft in publicly calling for the Church to change on the issue.

The Bishop of Worcester, the Rt Rev Dr John Inge -- a diocesan bishop -- and the Bishop of Dudley, the Rt Rev Martin Gorick -- a more junior suffragan bishop -- have now publicly backed his calls.

Is the tautology of the title 'Bishop for Episcopal Ministry' evidence of a navel-gazing Church irreversibly turned inwards on it self? Has no bishop ever been for Episcopal Ministry until now? Presumably at present, Dr Bailey Wells will be Bishop for Episcopal Ministry only in those Anglican provinces that accept women in Episcopal Ministry. There is no indication of the clamour for such a figure beyond the Anglican Communion Office; how many bishops worldwide wanted this?