THE Church in Wales voted on Thursday evening to permit women to be bishops.

Cheers and applause greeted the result as it was announced at the Governing Body, which is meeting at the University of Wales Trinity St David in Lampeter, Ceredigion.

Members of the Governing Body removed a clause which would have delayed the implementation of the Bill until a separate Bill providing statutory provision for opponents had been passed.

Instead, the Bill To Enable Women To Be Consecrated As Bishops will take effect a year today (12 September 2014); and the Bench of Bishops will now have to prepare a code of practice "without delay" to provide for "those who in conscience dissent" from the ordination of women to the episcopate.

The Archbishop of Wales, Dr Barry Morgan, said that the bishops would "consult widely" on the code of practice, and would ensure it was debated at the next meeting of the Governing Body at Llandudno in April before being presented in its final form next September.

The voting figures for the Bill, which required a two-third majority in each House, were:

Laity: 57 Ayes, 14 Noes and two abstentions

Clergy: 37 Ayes, 10 Noes

Bishops: 6 Ayes