Barbara C. Harris

Barbara C. Harris was the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion and an American clergywoman and social activist.

Religious Leader

June 12, 1930

Gemini

94

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Barbara C. Harris, born on June 12, 1930, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was an American clergywoman and social activist. She made history as the first female bishop in the Anglican Communion when she was elected suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts in 1988 and consecrated on February 11, 1989. Harris was a prominent advocate for women’s rights and LGBTQ+ rights within the church. She passed away on March 13, 2020, in Lincoln, Massachusetts.

Some of Harris’s other notable achievements and works include: