Church of England rejects women bishops
22 Nov 2012 6:03 AM IST
The Church of England was in turmoil after narrowly voting against the ordination of women bishops in a major setback for efforts to modernise the mother church of millions of Anglicans worldwide.
In its biggest crossroads moment since backing the introduction of women priests 20 years ago, just enough lay members of England's state church went against their bishops' wishes and voted against the measure. Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford, said the church was now at risk of becoming a ‘national embarrassment’ and that the public would struggle to understand the result. The legislation needed a two-thirds majority among each of the three houses in the General Synod, the church's governing body.
In its biggest crossroads moment since backing the introduction of women priests 20 years ago, just enough lay members of England's state church went against their bishops' wishes and voted against the measure. Stephen Cottrell, the Bishop of Chelmsford, said the church was now at risk of becoming a ‘national embarrassment’ and that the public would struggle to understand the result. The legislation needed a two-thirds majority among each of the three houses in the General Synod, the church's governing body.
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