Rowan Williams in One Final Push for Women Bishops in Church of England

Rowan Williams, the head of the Anglican Communion, is making one final push for the ordination of women bishops before he officially retires from his position as the Archbishop of Canterbury in December.

"No-one is likely to underrate the significance of November's debate on women bishops in General Synod," Williams wrote in an article for the Church Times published on Friday. "It will shape the character of the Church of England for generations – and I'm not talking only about the decision we shall take, but about the way in which we discuss it and deal with the outcome of it."

Although women can serve as deacons and priests in Anglican churches, they are still fighting for ordination into the highest echelons of the clergy. Many from the more liberal side of the Communion have insisted that the law should change to allow women to be ordained as bishops, but conservatives maintain that Christ's disciples were all men, which is an example they should follow. Read more