"THREE-quarters of Anglican church leaders in Staffordshire have thrown their support behind allowing women to become bishops, despite concerns from some churchgoers.
The move has been described as "long overdue" and will finally place women on the same footing as their male counterparts in the Church of England."
The Lichfield Diocesan Synod met on Saturday to debate and vote on the motion.
The diocese is headed up by the 98th Bishop of Lichfield, the Right Reverend Jonathan Gledhill, and is served by 294 full-time stipendiary (paid) clergy and an even larger number of non-stipendiary (volunteer) clergy and lay ministers.
Ninety-four people voted in favour of the changes, 31 were against and two abstained.
Although the national body, the General Synod, has already agreed in principle to women becoming bishops, it still needs to win the backing of at least half of the 44 dioceses across England for it to become law.
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