Church of England Approves Plan Allowing Female Bishops LONDON - The Church of England overturned centuries of tradition on Monday with a final vote allowing women to become bishops, and the first appointments possible by Christmas. Approval of the historic change in legislation, which was first agreed to in July, was announced after a largely symbolic show of hands at the General Synod, the lawmaking body of the Church of England. The British Parliament supported the measure last month. "Today we can begin to embrace a new way of being the church and moving forward together," the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby, said after the vote. Two decades after the first female priest was ordained, the issue of women taking senior roles in the church hierarchy remains divisive. As recently as 2012, the proposal had been defeated by six votes. But Archbishop Welby, the spiritual leader of the church and the global Anglican Communion, who supported the vote from the start, had warned fellow church leaders earlier this year that the public would find the exclusion of women "almost incomprehensible." On Monday, however, he acknowledged that a split in the worldwide Anglican community was now a serious possibility. "Without prayer and repentance, it is hard to see how we can avoid some serious fractures," he said. The change involves the addition of a sentence to Canon 33, stating: "A man or a woman may be consecrated to the office of bishop." Half a dozen dioceses may soon appoint new bishops, including Oxford, Gloucester and Newcastle. Southwell and Nottingham are reportedly already considering applications from women candidates, and a first appointment might be made before the year's end. Last month, the church floated the idea that affirmative action could be used to ordain "underrepresented" female bishops. One faction within the Church of England that opposes women as bishops is a conservative evangelical group called Reform. Arguing that "the divine order of male headship" makes it "inappropriate" for women to lead dioceses, Reform claims that at least a quarter of the church will find this incompatible with their beliefs. But Monday's vote was welcomed by longstanding campaigners like the Very Rev. Jane Hedges, the first female dean of Norwich, who called it "very exciting and good news for the church and our mission to the world." Dean Hedges said she had not expected to see this change during her professional life and cautioned that it might take some time for a critical mass of female bishops to be installed. Archbishop Welby predicted after Monday's vote that half the Church of England's bishops could be women within a decade, which would mean that about 50 dioceses could be led by women. Hilary Cotton, the chairwoman of Women and the Church, or Watch, told the BBC that she hopes the change occurs quickly. "It is not just about having women wearing purple," she said. It is about changing the culture of the church to be more equal.