The Church of England took the first historic step yesterday towards consecrating women bishops despite warnings that the divisive reform could prove "cataclysmic".
Eleven years after women were ordained as priests, the General Synod voted overwhelmingly to begin the process of admitting them to the highest tier of the hierarchy. Under the proposed timetable, women bishops could be consecrated by 2010, and the first female Archbishop could follow a decade or so later.
But the level of dissent that emerged during the debate indicated that the legislation still faces a rough ride, particularly as it will ultimately require approval by a two-thirds majority.
Supporters of women's ordination insisted that the changes were a matter of justice that were long overdue, but opponents argued that they broke with centuries of tradition and would create deep disunity.
Traditionalists have already said they will fight a fierce rearguard action unless they are granted significant concessions such as a "third province", an enclave free of women clergy.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, acknowledged yesterday that sharp differences remained, but said the Synod should decide in July whether the timing was right for legislation.
A group headed by the Bishop of Guildford, the Rt Rev Christopher Hill, will now draw up more detailed proposals, and Dr Williams said the issues involved were sensitive, deep and far-reaching.
"They are indeed about what kind of Church we want to be," he said. "They are indeed about balancing the call for visible, manifest catholicity and the call to fidelity to the Gospel as we believe we are receiving it.''
Opening the debate, the Bishop of Rochester, the Rt Rev Michael Nazir-Ali, who chaired the working party that published a report on the theological background last year, said there were arguments on both sides.
"There are those who feel that as a matter of justice women priests should now be eligible for episcopal appointments and that the Church's credibility is being damaged, both among her own members and in the world, because of the bar on women being bishops," he said.
"There are others, however, who argue that now is not the right time. The Church is facing a number of serious issues which threaten to divide it. Is this really a time to introduce another cause for division?"
The Bishop of Chelmsford, the Rt Rev John Gladwin, said the question was whether, given women's role in society, there were sufficiently good theological arguments to prevent the Church from consecrating them. He said he did not believe that there were.
Patrick Martin, from the Exeter diocese, said the reforms could undermine the possibility of unity with the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches, which have only male bishops.
"Do we not need very careful and prayerful consideration before embarking on this cataclysmic course of action?"
Gerald O'Brien, from Rochester, said that more than 1,000 parishes had said they would not accept women priests as their incumbent. He said women priests had "significantly different beliefs" from the traditionalist priests they had replaced.