The United Kingdom may see its first female Anglican bishop in power after the conclusion of Saturday's election for the bishop of the Diocese of Scotland.

The Rev. Alison Peden, a 57-year-old rector of Holy Trinity Church in Stirling and canon of St. Ninian's Cathedral in Perth, is one of three candidates vying for the position in the 38,000-member Scottish Episcopal Church.

Her competitors are the Rev. John Applegate, an academic at Manchester University, and the Rev. Gregor Duncan, rector of St. Ninian's Church, Pollokshields, and dean of the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway.

Observers have said that if Peden is successful, it will put pressure on the Church of England to also allow the appointment of bishops.

"This news is a real boost as it comes at a time when the Church of England is in the process of preparing its own legislation for women bishops," Christina Rees, chairperson of WATCH (Women and the Church) and a campaigner for female bishops, told local sources.

Rees believes the legislation will probably be reviewed during the church's General Synod in July 2010, with final approval being given in 2012.

"My great hope in 2010 is that we will finally see good, robust and fair legislation for women bishops coming forward," she told Ecumenical News International.

The Scottish Diocese election comes only a year after Lutheran bishop the Rev. Jana Jeruma-Grinberga was consecrated as the first woman bishop in the nation.

"I hope that this will also be regarded as a sign that ordination is for all the baptized, who are called through the church," Lutheran World Federation (LWF) head the Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko commented during Jeruma-Grinberga's ordination.

"For Lutherans, ecumenism is not an option, but an obligation which is frequently stated in the saying: 'To be Lutheran is to be ecumenical."