About Li Tim-Oi

On 25 January 1944 history was made when the Rev Florence Li Tim-Oi was made a ‘Priest in the Church of God’.

The Ordination in the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and South China took place in the Free China village of Shui Hing during the Sino-Japanese War. It was conducted by Bishop R O Hall in order that Anglican Christians in Tim-Oi’s parish of Macao, the Portuguese island colony, could receive the sacrament of Holy Communion properly authorised.

It was not until 1971 that the Anglican Communion agreed that further women might be ordained priest, and not until 1994 that women were priested in the Church of England. In the same year the Li Tim-Oi Foundation was launched to empower women in the Two Thirds’ World for Christian mission and ministry.

More details can be found in the following articles.

Li Tim-Oi’s Story – At her birth in Hong Kong on 5 May 1907 Li Tim-Oi’s father called her “Much Beloved”   

How Li Tim-Oi is being commemorated across the world – In Minneapolis on 4 August 2003, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of USA agreed to in  

Resources – 70th Anniversary Worship Resources : read or download the pdf sheet.  ‘Return to Hepu’  

Dahlia – The Rt Rev Barry Rogerson, who as Bishop of Bristol ordained the first Church of England woman pries  

Diamond Jubilee – On 24 January 2004 an icon of the Rev. Dr Florence Li Tim-Oi was dedicated at St Martin-in-the-Field