Women bishops are coming to the Church of England, says leading opponent

The Church of England is on an unstoppable path to women bishops, their most senior traditionalist opponent has conceded.

The Rt Rev John Hind, the Bishop of Chichester, has led opposition to ordaining women as bishops but said that it was now certain to happen.

He spoke ahead of a key vote next week by the General Synod, the Church's governing body, on plans to allow women to lead dioceses, which is currently not allowed.

A leading proponent of women bishops, the Bishop of Oxford, also described their ordination as "inevitable", saying that it would "happen very soon".

The synod will decide next week on a series of motions about women bishops, including a draft code of conduct which sets out how they would be introduced and what would be on offer to Anglicans who remain opposed to their creation.

The votes in London will be the first opportunity for the current synod to signal its intentions over what is expected to be the final vote on women bishops at this summer's General Synod in York.

If the legislation is passed women bishops could be ordained in 2014. Keep reading.