Church of England postpones vote on female bishops The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, at the General Synod, where a vote on female bishops was postponed. Senior female clergy in the Church of England have won a bittersweet victory after a vote was postponed on draft legislation that would have enabled them to become bishops only on terms they said were discriminatory. In a humiliating rebuke to the highest echelons of the church, the General Synod voted by a significant majority to adjourn a debate on the measure. The archbishop of Canterbury admitted that the house of bishops had "not succeeded" in finding a compromise that had won the approval of all, and said those who had supported a controversial amendment should feel "appropriate penitence." Defending their motivations, Rowan Williams said the bishops had only been trying to help when they tinkered with the draft legislation in May. He said he remained unconvinced they had got it wrong. But he said they should question why they failed to anticipate the outpouring of anger from senior female clergy and campaigners for female bishops. "It is quite clear that the reaction cannot be ignored," he said. When there is a reaction of real hurt and offence in the church at large, Christians, and Christian pastors particularly, cannot afford to ignore it, because it means that should the measure go through ... it's not easily something that can be celebrated by the church as a whole. The bishops will be aware that they underrated the depth of that sense of hurt and offence and if other bishops feel as I do they will need to examine themselves and feel appropriate penitence that they did not recognise just how difficult that was going to be. On a day that had once been expected to see the historic legislation passed after 12 years of struggle and division, the synod instead voted by 288 votes to 144, with 15 abstentions, to delay a final vote on the issue until at least November. The house of bishops will now meet in mid-September to take another look at the measure and decide how and if to change the controversial clause 5 (1) c. Critics of the clause say it would have enshrined in law the very prejudices against which supporters of female bishops have battled so long. It would, they say, create a two-tier system in which not only female bishops, but men who ordained women or who had themselves been ordained by women, would be considered second-rate. Several senior clergy on Monday echoed Williams's warning that, though an adjournment might provide time to reflect, it was "not a panacea." When the legislation returns to the bishops in September, they said, it may be no more acceptable to some parts of the church. Giving powerful and emotional speeches during a two-hour debate in the chamber in York, many of those who had fought hard to see women enter the episcopate urged the synod to vote for the adjournment. "For me as a priest it is about my own identity, my calling for God, my life's work, my self-respect as a woman," said the Rev Canon Rosie Harper, speaking of the "powerful emotional effect" the addition of clause 5 (1) c had had on her. Speaking after the adjournment was carried, Rachel Treweek, archdeacon of Hackney, said she was "feeling very peaceful and hopeful ... Now I'm very hopeful because I do believe this is about keeping the church together." Many senior female clergy believe the clause in effect turned the draft legislation - which was approved by 42 of 44 dioceses before it was amended - into a legitimiser of discriminatory beliefs. Christina Rees, a campaigner for female bishops, told the synod she did not want the established church to ask parliament to give approval to such a law. "I do not want to ask parliament to ratify a law containing that type of phraseology and that kind of key conclusion about what this says about women in English law," she said. Tony Baldry, a Tory MP and member of synod, warned the church's legislative body that a failure to deal with the issue of female bishops carefully could be far-reaching and would make it "infinitely more difficult" for him to defend the position of bishops in an elected House of Lords. Those who will be most disappointed by the adjournment are those anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals who remain opposed to the ministry of female bishops. Lorna Ashworth, from Chichester, told the house: "Can we please forget adjournment? Because this liberated, God-fearing, Jesus-loving, conservative evangelical wants to remain within the Church of England.