Wales admits women bishops, Church of England lags behind

c. 2013 Religion News Service

CANTERBURY, England (RNS)  The decision by the Church in Wales to consecrate women bishops means the Church of England — the mother church of the worldwide Anglican Communion — will be the last in Britain to admit women as bishops.

Cheers erupted in a hall at Lampeter, Ceredigion in Wales, when the 144-member governing body of the Welsh church announced the result of the vote on Thursday (Sept. 12). A similar bill failed narrowly in 2008.