Church of England moves to allow women bishops

YORK, England — In a historic shift away from tradition, the Church of England’s governing body has ruled that the ordination of women as bishops can be theologically justified.

The church’s General Synod, meeting in York, England, voted 288–119 on July 8 in favor of the move that, if carried through, could allow women into the highest ranks of the church.

Traditionalists point to the Bible and say Jesus chose only men to be His apostles. But leading biblical scholars, including Durham Bishop Tom Wright, say there is evidence of the involvement of women in the earliest days of the Christian church and cite Mary Magdalene, who was the first to relay news of Jesus’ resurrection — the central message of Christianity.

With its dramatic vote, the General Synod signaled that it accepted that ordination of women can be justified from a theological viewpoint and that the move was “consonant with the faith of the Church.”  (TAB)