A former admin worker is to make history by becoming the first female priest appointed as number two to a bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Susan Macdonald, 61, rector of Christ Church, Morningside, will take over from the Very Rev Dr John Armes as Dean of the Edinburgh diocese when he steps up to become the new Bishop of Edinburgh in May.
It is the most senior appointment a woman has yet held in the Scottish Episcopal Church. The church ”“ where women have been ordained since 1994 ”“ agreed in principle to women bishops in 2003. But despite two occasions when a woman has been shortlisted, no female bishop has yet been elected.