[View the story "A-men only" on Storify ]A-men only Church of England comes under fire after voting against allowing female bishops. Storified by The Stream · Tue, Nov 27 2012 10:18:35
On November 21 the Church of England's overseeing legislative body, the General Synod,
voted not to ordain female bishops , to the dismay of many. Sentiments for General Synod's first meeting in five years turned from general excitement to stark disappointment, with a number of church members vowing to fight the decision.
The vote would have elevated English women within the Anglican Church much like their counterparts
in other countries . Women already serve in a number of capacities within the church and achieved the right to be ordained as priests in 1992.
Here, outgoing Archbishop Rowan Williams, the spiritual head of the Church, addresses the General Synod following the vote:
Church has lost credibility - Williamspressassociation
To my female clergy friends.. You're awesome and doing fantastic work. We'll sort this... #synodMark Russell
The General Synod is composed of three houses: bishops, clergy and laity. Any new legislation must be approved by
two-thirds of all houses of the General Synod . Archbishop Williams and a majority of the bishops, clergy and laity were in support of the legislation allowing female bishops; however, the House of Laity's vote failed to achieve a majority by six votes. A vote on similar legislation likely
won't be held again until 2015 . A picture of the General Synod following Archbishop's final address:
Standing ovation for Archbishop Rowan and Jane Williams. #synod. http://pic.twitter.com/HPTOy2sLChurch of England
Supporters of female bishops also took to
social media to promote the legislation prior to the vote, starting a campaign called
Enough Waiting . Here, the Archdeacon of Norwich, Jan McFarlane, speaks on the issue, stating, "We've been debating this issue for most of my life and surely that's enough waiting".
Women Bishops: Enough Waiting - Jan McFarlane's message to General Synodlambethpress
In his own video, the Bishop of Sheffield, Steven Croft, hoped that the majority of General Synod members would support the measure on female bishops, stating, "England expects and the Church of England expects, we now have to deliver."
Steven Croft - Women Bishops: Enough Waitinglambethpress
Here, church members pose with purple banners supporting women bishops:
"Bishops should represent the diversity of the ...Facebook
Wouldn't it be absurd if Parliament were to sayFacebook
According to
statistics from the Church of England, church membership is in overall decline. Female membership within the church now outnumbers that of male membership. This bar graph shows trained female readers outnumbering their male counterparts:
ChurchAJstream
Here, the Vicar of Belmont & Pittington and member of the General Synod, Miranda Threlfall-Holmes, reacts to the vote on female bishop legislation. She argues that much damage was done and church's reputation had suffered immensely:
So, the vote is no. Which doesn't close down the debate and allow us to get on with other things, but simply condemns us all to another 5-10 years of working on this. I am stunned that anyone, whatever their views on women bishops, could feel that is a good use of our time and energy in the next decade. I suspect some of those who voted against are similarly stunned. From the looks on some faces, and brief conversations as we left, I get the impression that some - probably more than 6 - wanted to register a protest but hadn't expected it to mean the measure would fall. If so, they badly miscalculated. The damage this has done, and will continue to do, to the reputation and moral authority of the Church of England is very great.Miranda Threlfall-Holmes
sympathies to my women priest friends after disastrous Synod vote. God certainly moves in a mysterious way.Joan Bakewell
This member of the Church of England makes a theological case against female bishops in the church, using passages from the Bible to prove his point:
Men are called to emulate Christ as head over the church. Women are called to emulate Christ as he submits to his Father. Therefore, the Bible calls men and women to live out these roles in the life of the church so that the world can see just how brilliant Jesus Christ is. This is why Paul is not sexist to affirm those distinctions and say "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man..." (1 Timothy 2:12). There is a key passage from Paul that some believe justifies women bishops: "there is neither male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28). But I disagree - this key passage is not saying that there is no difference between men and women, but that our differences don't prevent us from being united. He calls men as men and women as women.Why I support the vote against women bishops - Channel 4 News
Sympathy for those who have theological objections to all this, but surely the time is well past to honour God and women #synodAndy Campbell
Reaction on Twitter to the vote against allowing female bishops was largely negative, with many netizens disappointed or embarrassed:
Ashamed to be Anglican right now. #synodAl Barrett
It was definitely still 2012 when I woke up this morning... #synodRowan Woods
Anyone who can walk diagonally should be allowed to be a bishop #synodAndrew
The Church of England has forfeited right to speak on assisted dying - because it has just committed suicide, assisted by #synodRuth Gledhill
An opponent of women bishops says he's being treated as second class, irony overload. #SynodGed Robinson
Whilst I agree with Women Bishops the church's future isn't determined by society, it's determined by God. #BBCQT #SynodGed Robinson
No man or woman will stop my calling from the Holy Spirit #Jesus #God to evangelise -I can manage effectively without being a Bishop #SynodEmily Glancy
Some, however, did not take liberty to criticise the General Synod's decision:
#synod issue is not about pleasing people but remaining faithful to God's truthJohann Eicher
I think we need to be aware of planks in our own eyes in making sweeping and condemnatory statements about #synod decisions. God judges.Jon Bruton
The #synod made the right decision, though inconsistent with earlier decision to have women vicars. The Bible is perfectly clear on this.Andrew Haslam
