Church of England General Synod approves Women Bishops bill

14 Jul 2014
Church of England Press Office

The General Synod of the Church of England has today given its final approval for women to become bishops in the Church of England.

The vote in the General Synod on the measure was carried by the required two-thirds majority in the three constituent parts of the Synod: the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity.

The voting results were as follows:

House of Bishops: Yes 37 No 2 Abstentions 1

House of Clergy: Yes 162 No 25 Abstentions 4

House of Laity: Yes 152 No 45 Abstentions 5

This means the first woman bishop could potentially be appointed by the end of the year.

Today's vote comes 18 months after the proposal was last voted upon in November 2012 when the proposal failed to achieve the required two thirds majority in the House of Laity... the rest at Anglican Ink

Church of England General Synod backs women bishops   The Church of England has voted to allow women to become bishops for first time in its history....BBC