The Church of England is facing a fresh crisis after the archbishops of Canterbury and York failed to win enough support for a compromise over women bishops at the Church's General Synod.

New concessions to traditionalists in the church, proposed by Rowan Williams and John Sentamu, were rejected by the Anglican clergy, although most bishops and laity at the Synod voted in favour. In dramatic scenes at York on Saturday, shocked members of the Synod pleaded for time to pray and reflect on the vote and to consider the implications of the rebellion against the two most senior figures in the church.

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