Church of England Approves Women Bishops In Historic Vote

RTR3YL2T — Two attendees of the Church of England's Synod leave during a lunch break in the session during which they will discuss and vote on the consecration of women bishops in York. The measure passed just two years after a similar one was voted down. Reuters

The Church of England voted Wednesday to allow women to be consecrated as bishops.

The House of Bishops voted 37 to 2, with one abstention, to allow female bishops, the Huffington Post reported. The House of Clergy approved the measure 162 to 25 and the House of Laity voted 152 to 45. There were four abstentions in the House of Clergy and five in the House of Laity.

The approval of female bishops came two years after a similar measure failed to gain a sufficient number of votes.

As the debate began Monday, several former opponents of female bishops in Church of England's General Synod said they would be willing to accept the measure even if they didn’t agree, the Guardian reported. This included conservative evangelical member Phillip Giddings and liberal member Tom Sutcliffe. Both men had previously voted against a similar measure presented in 2012.

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