Just a few days into his post, Bishop Patrick White thinks he might have to take down the large portrait of his groundbreaking predecessor which hangs above the desk in his new office.

He jokes the picture makes him feel like Bishop Ewen Ratteray is constantly watching over his shoulder.

Certainly nobody could blame Bishop White for not wanting to be reminded the act he's trying to follow is Bermuda's first black and first Bermudian Anglican bishop, a man credited with bringing new levels of unity to the Island over his unusually long 12-year tenure.

Equally he might also want to avoid the portrait's prying eyes as he plots a revolution in Bermuda's Anglican church even Bishop Ratteray opposed — the ordination of women priests.

It's a risky suggestion that he knows many traditionalists within the church are against, but it's something Bishop White pledged before his election and is now hoping to make a reality.

He believes introducing female priests would help level the playing field between the sexes, as well as bringing extra nurturing qualities that he has witnessed in Toronto, where he has spent much of his career.

"Most of the people who run the churches are women, so why should they be denied that top post?" the bishop told The Royal Gazette.

"My experience is that women are very good priests. You have the nurturing role of women. I think that it does something on a symbolic level when a woman stands up in a service. Women see themselves, they hear their voice.

"Women priests also challenge the structures which may suffer from patriarchal and hierarchical pathology, and so therefore the church becomes more fully human and more integrated."

Opponents to the idea claim Jesus had no female disciples and don't think a woman can stand at the altar in the place of Christ.

Bishop White says Bermuda has never embraced women priests before because Bishop Ratteray made it clear he didn't want them.

And he cites the example of one of his closest friends, a woman with strong Christian beliefs, who like many Bermudians simply can't accept women priests on theological grounds.

Pledging to only pursue the concept with the backing of the rest of the church, he said: "I think there's sufficient ground swell in the Anglican church to change that but it's really important to do it right.

"Across the board, I believe that the church is ready for it. If we do it in a respectful and careful way, it will happen.

"I believe it but I made the point that it had to be a church discussion. If the majority of people don't want it, it's not going to work. We need to introduce it as a goal to talk about. Let people relate to whether they can agree with it."

He said he would raise the matter at the next Synod meeting in April, and that one potential half-step fairly soon could be the introduction of female locums to cover parishes with no priests.

Born in Bermuda 66 years ago before moving to Canada at the age of ten, Bishop White's career has been split between Toronto, Pembroke and more recently St. Paul's church in Paget.

One of his most difficult challenges will be reversing a trend towards materialism which has seen churches struggling to keep up their numbers.

Some have blamed increasing levels of violence on Bermuda's vain glory culture, while Bishop White believes too many people rely on over-the-counter drugs or alcohol as quick-fix methods to ease their anxieties.

"People have more wealth now. But what is that wealth contributing to people's well-being psychologically, emotionally and spiritually? What does it do to people?" he said.

"Churches need to be more effective in reaching out to the community and saying that, yes, it's fine to have these things but there are other things that will give you a much deeper satisfaction, which will address your yearning for wholeness, for peace, equilibrium. And so there may not be the need to accumulate more wealth."

He accepts it may be an uphill task trying to get people more interested in the church in the modern environment, but points out the church has never found it easy attracting numbers.

"There are some really significant challenges that I know that we will deal with as a body. I'm really looking forward to it," he said.

"While I'm the guy at the helm, I need a lot of crew in order to sail this boat. I'm really heartened by the crew we have. I think that working together we can make a real difference and make some inroads towards trying to address some social issues as a positive contributor to Bermudian society."

Bishop White says he has been receiving good support from Bishop Ratteray, whom he says had to deal with heightened expectations in the same way President Barack Obama will.

"He broke new ground by being the first Bermudian and the first black bishop," he said. "I don't have the same expectations that he did."