I knew Monday, 7th July wasn't going to  go well as when I was putting in my slip-in dog collar it snapped in two -  that has never happened before but a broken dog collar must surely be a sign  of things to come.

With the Anglican Communion in turmoil and  "Not the Lambeth Conference" meeting in Jerusalem at the GAFCON gathering of  those opposed to what they regard as the liberal drift of the Communion, it  might be expected that we would have the wisdom in the Church of England to  steer clear of yet more divisive issues.  But no, here we go again, with a  debate on women bishops at the General Synod's meeting at York - it was not a  pretty sight - far more of a political bear pit than a spiritual gathering.

The trouble with the Church of England, as I have often pointed  out in the past, is that we have two forms of governance imposed upon one  single body - i.e. Episcopacy (government by bishops) and  Democracy (government by elected representative of the clergy,  the laity plus the unelected bishops forming just one of three Houses) - the  seeds of conflict are implicit in the very way we govern ourselves and we saw  a clash of these two forms of government at York.

Well, against  the advice of many senior members of the episcopate the synod voted for the  motion to ordain women to the episcopacy with merely a voluntary - as yet  unwritten - form of "Code of Practice" as a sop for those opposed to the  innovation.  There is, of course, a clear majority among the bishops to have  women bishops among their ranks.  Yet even those in favour saw the need to keep  the Church together with its two major components - Catholic and Reformed.   The Archbishops of Canterbury  and York and the Bishops of Durham and Winchester - four of the five senior  bishops of the Established Church (what says the Bishop of London - the only  one of the five senior bishops who does not ordain women to the priesthood?)  appealed in vain with Synod to provide greater accommodation for those who, in  conscience, oppose this change to the historic episcopate and the apostolic  succession.  After the debate the Church will inevitably become more  Reformed and less Catholic - an essential historic balance is now totally out  of kilter.

However, you can always gauge the worth of a country,  an organisation or a church by the way in which it treats its minorities.  With  Liberals in the ascendant - Traditionalists are certainly now in the minority  within the national church.

I say that the Synod behaved more  like a political bear pit with parties opposing one another and scoring points  against one another, rather than acting as though they were a spiritual  gathering at a holy synod seeking the Lord's will and the guidance of the Holy  Spirit.  Having followed the debate closely it seems to me that this was the  Church of England at its worst - totally lacking in Christian love and  charity. Indeed the Bishop who chaired the debate broke down in tears and was  deeply ashamed of the way in which the representatives of the National Church  were behaving.  One, actual politician - Robert Key  M.P., who represents the Salisbury diocese, said after the  debate:-

"It is a good day for the Church of England, and it is a  good day for the country because our national church, the church by law  established, is now actually in step with most of the country and what people  feel.""
Of course, many, probably the majority, would agree with  that view.  However, is it the role of the Church to be "in step" with "what  people feel" ?  Where is the element of challenge to prevailing secular  "feelings" ?  The politician seems to think that the church has fallen behind  and is now catching up - but surely the Church should be leading!  That lead  should be based upon Scripture, Tradition and Reason - the three pillars which  have always supported Anglicanism.

What won the day on 11th  November 1992 when the decision was taken to ordain women to the priesthood  was the appeal to Justice.  What won the day on 7th July 2008, when a  further step was taken towards the eventual consecration of women to the  episcopate, was an appeal to Equality.  Yet, if we are so concerned with "equality" how come Jeffrey John isn't Bishop of Reading now - rather than Dean of St. Albans?  Don't the same arguments equally  apply?

Archbishop Rowan was right when he said that we are now "a  deeply changed Church of England".  It is certainly not the same Church of  England into which I was ordained thirty one years ago and yet I understand  that I worship the Lord Jesus Christ who, as it says in Hebrews - "is the  same, yesterday, today and forever".  I seem to remember that on the night on  which he was betrayed the Lord earnestly prayed in the garden of Gethsemane  "that they may all be one".  Alas, that appeal to unity,  something to and for which I have always been concerned throughout my entire  ministry, seems to have fallen on deaf ears at the York meeting of the General  Synod in the year of our Lord MMVIII.  Let us not forget that, by tradition,  the bishop is the focus of unity within the Church.  When so many are opposed  to this  considerable change to the historic episcopate - then, to say  the least, the vital role of the bishop to be the focus of unity and, may I  add, guardian of the historic faith once committed by our Blessed Lord to the  original twelve apostles, will no longer be possible to  maintain.

With regard to Church Unity - which is, as I say, the  clearly stated will of the Lord - let me conclude with the Vatican's immediate  response to the Church of England's vote concerning women bishops:-

"We have regretfully learned of the Church of England vote to  pave the way for the introduction of legislation which will lead to the  ordaining of women to the Episcopacy.

The Catholic position on  the issue was clearly expressed by Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II.  Such a  decision signifies a breaking away from the apostolic tradition maintained by  all Churches since the first millennium, and therefore is a further obstacle  for the reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England."