World Jul. 08, 2008 - 05:38AM JST ( 2 )

LONDON —

The Church of England voted Monday to allow the ordination of women bishops following a divisive debate which pitched conservatives against liberals, British media reported.

More than 1,300 clergy had threatened to leave the church if the General Synod, the Church of England’s legislative body, voted for the move.

The vote was conducted across the three houses of the General Synod. Bishops voted to bring forward legislation to ordain women bishops by 28 to 12, clergy voted in favor by 124 to 44 and laity by 111 to 68, the Times newspaper said.

The General Synod earlier rejected compromise measures designed to accommodate those who could not accept women bishops.

The measure would have created three male “super-bishops” to tend to those who objected to women bishops.

The synod also voted against creating new dioceses for parishes that would not accept women bishops.

In his Sunday sermon, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the leader of the world’s Anglicans, said Jesus was with those on both sides of the debate.

Archbishop of York John Sentamu backed a compromise, saying: “I would like to travel in company with everybody in the church.”

The Church of England is the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion, which has about 77 million followers.

For conservatives, practices like the ordination of women bishops and gay clergy—which has also caused splits in recent years—cast doubt on the interpretation of the Bible.

Wire reports