1,300 clergy threaten to defect in the women bishops row

Canon Lucy Winkett, precentor of St Paul's Cathedral, is one of the writers of the letter to House of Bishops Ann Cryer, MP for Keighley, attended a press conference at Westminster Abbey in support More than 1,300 clergy have written to the Archbishop of Canterbury saying they will defect from the Church of England if women are consecrated as bishops. Members of the group, which includes 11 serving bishops, say they will take decisive action if two votes are passed this weekend to allow female bishops. The move comes as the Anglican community is divided over the issue of homosexual clergy. The letter, sent to Dr Rowan Williams and the Archbishop of York John Sentamu, comes before the meeting of the General Synod, the Church's governing body, in York on Friday. They will make a landmark decision about the future of women in... [read full story]