The Moravian episcopate is a genuine pre-Reformation succession — the Unity had bishops from 1467 — and the church guarded it through the Hidden Seed period specifically so that it could be transmitted. The Church of England's Act of 1749 recognised the Unitas Fratrum as an ancient Protestant episcopal church, which was a considerable diplomatic achievement for a body of refugees. But the bishops do not govern: authority sits with provincial synods and with the Unity Synod, which meets every seven years and is composed of representatives from the provinces. The first woman was ordained in 1975 in the American provinces and the first woman bishop consecrated in 1998. The worldwide balance of power has shifted decisively: the African provinces, Tanzania above all, hold the great majority of members and correspondingly more weight at Unity Synod than the European provinces that funded them.