Carolyn Tanner Irish

Women in Religious Roles

Bishop of Utah’s Episcopal Church, the first woman to lead a church in Utah, and only the fourth woman in the Episcopal Church to hold the office of bishop. Although raised in the LDS faith, Bishop Tanner later converted to the Episcopal Church and entered the ministry in 1984. She served congregations in Washington, D.C., Virginia, and Michigan before her election and consecration in 1996 as the tenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. Throughout her ministry, Bishop Tanner has been an outspoken advocate of minorities and has opposed movements to make English the sole language of governmental laws and information.