admindefeated the motion by just six votes.
The incoming Archbishop of Canterbury — who had urged the Synod to back women bishops — said it was a “very grim day” for women priests and their supporters. Rt Rev Justin Welby, Bishop of Durham, who was appointed earlier this month, tweeted: “Very grim day, most of all for women priests and supporters, need to surround all with prayer and love and co-operate with our healing God.”
The vote on Tuesday evening followed a day of fraught debate in which the Rt Rev Nigel McCulloch, Bishop of Manchester, warned that opposing the new law would be a “devastating blow” to the Church’s morale. But two decades after women were first ordained as priests, only the Houses of Bishops and Clergy achieved the necessary two-thirds majority to bring the plans for female bishops into Canon Law.
In the House of Laity, which represents lay Anglicans, only 132 people voted in favour, six short of the number required.
The result is a blow to the outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury, the Rt Rev Rowan Williams, who has been a vocal supporter of women becoming bishops and has struggled to unite Anglicans around the reform.
“Of course I hoped and prayed that this particular business would be at another stage before I left and, of course, it is a personal sadness, a deep personal sadness, that that is not the case,” he said on Tuesday night.
The Church of England has battled with this legislation for the past 12 years and it remains a highly emotive issue. Traditionalists maintain that the legislation is ill-drafted and that they are being asked to support a position that is in conflict with the Bible.
One member of the House of Laity, Charles Hanson, from Carlisle diocese, had told the synod earlier in the day that the draft measure to bring in women bishops was “second-class legislation’’.
“Being asked to sign this legislation is like being asked to sign a blank cheque,” he told the delegates.
Under the Church’s rules, the proposal cannot be brought again until a new synod is elected in 2015. However, the House of Bishops, which voted 44 to three in favour of women’s consecration, is convening an emergency meeting early on Wednesday to discuss how to proceed.
After the vote, the Rt Rev Graham James, Bishop of Norwich, admitted: “This leaves us with a problem.”
Given that 42 out of 44 dioceses approved the legislation and more than three-quarters of members of diocesan synods had previously voted in favour, the result clearly does not reflect the majority opinion.
“There will be many who wonder why the General Synod expressed its mind so differently,” Bishop James said.
An official close to Maria Miller, minister for women and equalities, expressed concern about the move. “Whilst this is a matter for the Church, it’s very disappointing,” the official said.
“As we seek to help women fulfil their potential throughout society, this ruling would suggest the Church is at the very least behind the times.”
Whatever the political response, the result of the vote will present a challenge to Dr Welby when he takes up his post next year. The archbishop-designate is strongly in favour of bringing women into the House of Bishops and has deployed his skill in conflict resolution to try to unite the opposing sides. But when he arrives at Lambeth Palace he will be under even more pressure to heal the schism.
Giles Fraser, a prominent cleric, took to Twitter to express his frustration with the synod’s decision. “Church of England Synod — pathetic,” he tweeted.
The Rev Rachel Weir, of the campaign group Women and the Church, said she was “absolutely devastated” by the decision.
“Not just devastated on behalf of clergy women — obviously this will be an enormous blow to clergy women, it’s awful for their morale — but it’s a disaster for the Church of England,” she said.
“We’ve spent 10 years working for this legislation. There’s something badly wrong with the system.” — Financial Times
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