[Church of England] Women made up the majority of deacons ordained in the Church of England last year for the first time, according to new statistics published on June 17.

A total of 570 deacons were ordained in 2019, with women making up 51% of the new intake.

Deacons are the first of three orders of ordained ministry. While all clergy continue as deacons throughout, the majority are also ordained as priests at the end of their first year of ministry.

The statistics show that women made up around 32% of the 20,000 active clergy last year, with a growing proportion of senior posts such as bishops, archdeacons and cathedral Deans, growing from 25% in 2018 to 27% last year.

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