A GROUP of senior Church of England officials have announced that they intend to ask the General Synod to postpone tomorrow’s historic vote to allow women to be bishops, so that last minute amendments made to the draft legislation by the House of Bishops could be re-considered. If Synod approves, the earliest they would be able to vote on final approval would be November, at a specially convened Synod, which is likely to cost in excess of £100,000.
There were growing signs that supporters of women bishops would seek to postpone the final vote on the draft law, or Measure; but it was not clear whether such a move would be supported by a majority in the Synod. But now the steering committee responsible for drafting the legislation and taking it through the revision stages say they want the vote postponed. It now seems more likely that the Synod will agree to a postponement; but there are still many who express a wish that the Synod will simply “get on with it.”