Church of England votes to allow women bishops

Church of England, the largest church of Anglican Communion, after a vote in New York, yesterday voted to allow women Bishop.

The law was passed at the church's General Synod to scrap the ban after a plea from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

The Archbishop of Canterbury arrived for the General Synod of Church of England meeting at The University of York

Two thirds majority voting bodies of the church needed to get rid of the ban.

37 bishops voted in favour with just two against and one abstention. A further 162 clergy were in favour, 25 against and four abstentions. In the crucial lay votes there were 152 votes in favour, 45 against and five abstentions.

This means for the first time, the next Archbishop of Canterbury or York could be a woman, which could be announced within months.

The Church of England first began ordaining women as priests in 1994 (20 years ago) and has been debating whether they should become bishops since 2005.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, most Rev Justin Welby

 The head of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev Justin Welby, said the Church had been wrong on women bishops 'theologically' for centurieshe and was "delighted" with the result.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said it was a 'watershed moment for the Church of England and a huge step forward in making our society fairer'.

He said: 'I would like to congratulate the strong leadership that Archbishop Welby has shown on this issue.

'Allowing women to become bishops is another long overdue step towards gender equality in senior positions. I welcome the Church of England’s decision which means that women can now play a full and equal role in the important work of the Church.'