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Church will ordain women bishops Church votes backs women bishops
(30 minutes later)
The Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, has voted to confirm the ordination of women as bishops. The Church of England's ruling body, the General Synod, has voted to confirm the ordination of women bishops.
But a national code to accommodate traditionalists was approved by the Synod, which was meeting in York. But a national code of practice to accommodate traditionalists was also approved by the Synod, which was meeting in York.
Some 1,300 clergy have threatened to leave the Church if safeguards are not agreed to reassure traditionalists. BBC religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggot said the code would set out as-yet unspecified safeguards.
They made the threat in a letter to the archbishops of Canterbury and York, but critics say many of the signatories are retired rather than serving clergy. Some 1,300 clergy had threatened to leave the Church if safeguards were not agreed to reassure traditionalists.
Our correspondent the vote on ordaining female bishops was conclusive and was accompanied by emotional scenes
'Structurally humiliating'
Opponents of their ordination had made the threat to leave in a letter to the archbishops of Canterbury and York, but critics say many of the signatories are retired rather than serving clergy.
Women in the Church had said any compromise allowing traditionalists to go to parallel or "super-bishops" instead of female bishops would institutionalise division.
During the debate at the University of York, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, said he would be in favour of "a more rather than a less robust" form of accommodating traditionalists.
He added: "I am deeply unhappy with any scheme or any solution to this which ends up, as it were, structurally humiliating women who might be nominated to the episcopate."
The first women were ordained as priests in the Church of England in 1994.