By KATHERINE HADDON

THE Church of England was facing a serious split yesterday after its ruling General Synod voted to allow women bishops despite threats by more than 1300 clergy that they would quit over the issue.

The Synod, the church’s legislative body, voted late on Monday to press ahead with the ordination of women bishops.

It also voted to reject the legal safeguards demanded by traditionalists.

The Synod members voted to approve the drawing-up of a statutory national code of practice to accommodate parishes and clergy who object to women bishops on grounds of conscience.

That fell short of demands by traditionalists, who had wanted new dioceses to be created for parishes and clergy opposed to women bishops.

The Synod also rejected compromise proposals to create a new order of three male “super bishops” to cater for objectors.

The crunch vote at the University of York in northern England followed a passionate six- hour debate which pitched conservatives against liberals and ended with one bishop in tears as he said he was “ashamed” of the Church of England.

Bishops voted to bring forward legislation to ordain women bishops by 28 to 12, clergy were in favour by 124 to 44 and lay people by 111 to 68.

The Church of England, led by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has about 77million followers.

It first ordained women priests in 1994 amid a storm of controversy.

For conservatives, women and gay clergy cast doubt on the interpretation of Christianity’s sacred text, the Bible.

But liberals argue it is time to take a more inclusive approach.

“It seems to me a total nonsense that the church proclaims a gospel of equality for all while seeming to categorise some of its ordained ministers as unacceptable,” Reverend Ferial Etherington was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper on the debate.

The Church of England’s two most senior figures – Williams and John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York – reportedly favoured a compromise which would satisfy both sides.

A total of 1333 clergy have threatened to leave the Church of England if they are not given legal safeguards to set up a network of parishes that would remain under male leadership.

Traditionalists could now quit the church ahead of its once-a-decade meeting, known as the Lambeth Conference, which starts in the southern English city of Canterbury next week.

Liberals and conservatives have been at odds over the ordination of homosexual clergy since the consecration of openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in the United States in 2003.

Nearly 300 conservative Anglican bishops and archbishops formed a breakaway movement, the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, after a conference in Jerusalem last month. — Sapa-AFP