The Church of England historically voted Monday that women may become bishops next year, ending two decades of controversy over the role of women in leadership since females were allowed to become priests in 1994, Huffington Post reported. In 2012, a similar vote to approve women bishops passed among bishops and clergy but failed by six votes among lay members.
A two-thirds majority in the synod's three houses of bishops, clergy and laity was required in the vote, with the House of Bishops approving of women bishops 37 to 2 with one abstention, the House of Clergy approving 162 to 25 with four abstentions, and the House of Laity approving 152 to 45 with five abstentions. "Today this legislation allows us to move forward together, all of us as faithful Anglicans, all of us committed to each other's flourishing and the life of the Church not just in what we say but in how we now live and work together in the months and years ahead," Archbishop of Canterbury Rt. Rev. Justin Welby said.
In an interview with BBC prior to the vote, Welby, who supported consecrating women bishops, said there's a "good chance of the first woman bishop being announced very early in 2015, possibly been chosen before that."
Like the arguments stated in 2012, more traditional Anglicans, including evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics, stated that if Jesus had intended women to be among the top church leaders, he would have had a woman among the Twelve Apostles, thus arguing that female bishops would go against the teachings of Jesus.
The vote means the first woman might become a suffragan (assistant) bishop early next year and her appointment could be announced before the end of 2014. According to The Guardian, frontrunners to become the first woman bishop include Rev. Vivienne Faull, dean of York Minster; Rev. Jane Hedges, dean of Norwich cathedral; Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin, a chaplain for the House of Commons and Queen Elizabeth II; Rev. June Osborne, dean of Salisbury cathedral; Rev. Lucy Winkett, rector of St. James's Piccadilly and Rev. Rachel Treweek, archdeacon of Hackney.
"The Church of England, which is considered the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, counts among it 80 million members in more than 160 countries," according to Huffington Post reported. "The church traces its history to Henry VIII, under whom the church split from Roman Catholics. All Anglicans share the same basic tenets of faith but views on gender, sexuality, worship style and other issues vary widely by region."
Currently, about a third of clergy in the Church of England are women, who can also choose to be canons and archdeacons, Huffington Post reported.
