The Church of England delayed a vote on allowing women bishops on Monday after reformers rejected a last-minute concession to conservatives keen to keep the posts reserved for men only.
The Church’s General Synod voted to send back to their current bishops for further consideration an amendment allowing dissenting parishes to choose their male bishop as their leader if a woman is named to head their diocese.
That put off a final vote on the draft legislation, which most Church of England dioceses have already approved, until the Church’s next synod, or parliament, in November.
Along with the question of same-sex marriages, the consecration of women as bishops is among the most divisive issues facing the world’s 77 million Anglicans.