Anglican bishops lament synod’s failure to approve women bishops

December 12, 2012

The bishops of the Church of England have issued a statement lamenting the failure of the Church’s general synod to approve women bishops.

The proposal won the required two-thirds approval from the synod’s house of bishops and the house of clergy, but was four votes short of the required margin in the house of laity.

“The House [of Bishops] expressed its ongoing gratitude and appreciation for the ministry of ordained women in the Church of England, and its sadness that recent events should have left so many feeling undermined and undervalued,” the bishops said in a statement. “Effective response to this situation is a priority on which all are strongly agreed.”

“The House acknowledged the profound and widespread sense of anger, grief, and disappointment felt by so many in the Church of England and beyond, and agreed that the present situation was unsustainable for all, whatever their convictions,” the bishops added, as they outlined a process by which “a new legislative package [will] come to Synod in July.”

 

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Further information:

• Statement from the House of Bishops on defeat of women bishops legislation (Church of England)
• Bid to approve woman bishops fails in Church of England synod (CWN, 11/30)