c. 2000 Religion News Service

YORK, England _ A debate on whether women may serve as bishops in the Church of England is still two years off, but the current session of the denomination’s general synod has made it clear the church still has not healed the sharp and painful divisions that emerged after its 1992 decision to ordain women to the priesthood.

The new debate at the synod, which began meeting Friday (July 7), was sparked by a call for an end to the system of “flying bishops,” established in 1993, whereby congregations opposed to women priests are ministered to not by their local bishop but by non-residential bishops who also oppose women’s ordination.

The system, said Canon Patience Purchas of diocese of St. Albans, is “profoundly discriminatory.”

But, argued Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, the system has fulfilled its pastoral intention. “It has indeed provided freedom and space for those who, for one reason or another, do not accept that the Church of England’s decision to provide for the ordination of women to the presbyterate (priesthood) was the right one,” he said.

Nevertheless, he said he recognized that for some it was “a cause of anxiety and bewilderment” which seemed to call women’s priestly ministry into question but said it also meant there were no “no go” dioceses where women could not serve.

No action was taken on the proposal to end the system.

On Sunday (July 9), the role of women in the church was taken up again as the synod debated how to debate the prospect of women bishops.

By a very substantial majority, the synod agreed to a resolution by Archdeacon Judith Rose of the diocese of Tonbridge _ one of the highest ranking women priests _ which asks the House of Bishops “to initiate further theological study on the episcopate, focusing on the issues that need to be addressed in preparation for the debate on women in the episcopate in the Church of England, and to make a progress report on this study to synod within the next two years.”

The point, said Rose, was to try to be clear about the issues that needed to be addressed before debating whether or not women ought to be included in the episcopate of the Church of England.

“The time has to be right to make the substantive decision, but before that we need to identify and engage with the theological, ecclesiological and ecumenical issues,” she said.

Archbishop of York David Hope, supporting the proposal, said the study would need to take account especially of the commission set up after the 1988 Lambeth Conference under the chairmanship of Archbishop Robin Eames of Armagh to consider how to cope with the impaired communion that would exist through some Anglican provinces having women bishops and others refusing to recognize them.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali of Rochester pointed out that in the end the church would have to decide whether or not the theological arguments for including women in the episcopate are of “such weight that the difficulties and anomalies” produced would have to be tolerated “even if this means greater division in the Church of England and the Anglican Communion as a whole and a greater frigidity in ecumenical relations with at least some of our partners in dialogue.”

By an overwhelming majority, the synod rejected an amendment that would have committed it to start considering legislation to allow women bishops within the next two years.

In a report to the synod on Friday (July 7), delegates were told that paying compensation to Church of England clergy who have left the ministry because they are opposed to women priests has cost the Church Commissioners $23.4 million.

Under financial provisions enacted at the same time as the decision to ordain women priests, conscientious objectors to women’s ordination can resign from the ministry and claim compensation during a 10-year period from when the legislation came into force _ i.e. from 1994 to 2004. For those under 50 when they resign, compensation is limited to a maximum of three years’ payment of their full salary in the first year, three-quarters in the second, and two-thirds in the third. For those over 50, the two-thirds stipend continues to be paid until they qualify for their pension.

By the end of 1999, 473 clergy had left the Church of England, but of these 58 subsequently re-entered its ministry. A total of 390 clergy had received or were receiving financial compensation.

DEA END NOWELL