Archbishop: Conflict in Gaza shows why we must overcome splits on women bishops "Expressing in actions that we more than respect but also love one another is a foundation stone for our mission in this country and in the world more widely," he said. We cannot get trapped into believing that this is a zero-sum decision where one person's gain must be another's loss. That is not a theology of grace. Bishop Welby, who has worked as a negotiator in conflict zones, went on: "As we talk at this very moment in places from Israel and Gaza to Goma in the Congo there is killing and suffering because difference cannot be dealt with. We are those, we Christians are those, who carry peace and grace as a treasure for the world. We must be those who live a better way, who carry that treasure visibly and distribute it lavishly. He added: "The Church of England needs to show how it can develop the mission of the church in a way that demonstrates that we can manage diversity of view without division: diversity in amity not enmity. This is far more than showing that what unites us is greater than what divides us, true as that is. He was speaking as the Church's general Synod debated an historic motion to end years of male domination in the church. If approved it means that his successor as Archbishop of Canterbury could be a woman. Earlier the General Synod was told voting down plans would have a "devastating" effect on the Church on England. Opening an historic debate at Church House in London, the Bishop of Manchester, the Rt Rev Nigel McCullough, urged delegates to support the move, ending years of acrimony over the issue. He said that a failure to approve the change, despite overwhelming support in parishes, would cause real harm to the Church's credibility and "God's mission." He insisted that under a compromise arrangement traditionalists who object to women's ministry on theological grounds would still have an "honoured place" in the national Church. But leading the opposition to the change, Canon Simon Killwick, leader of one of the main Anglo-Catholic factions, said the current proposals were "not fit for purpose." Earlier at a special service for Synod members the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, urged delegates to "speak from the heart" in the debate.