BY the slender margin of one vote among the clergy, the church in Wales yesterday fell into line with the three other Anglican churches and agreed to accept women priests. The Church of Ireland ordained its first women priests in 1990, and in 1994 the Church of England and the Scottish Episcopal Church followed suit.
But in April, 1994, the governing body of the Church in Wales failed to muster the two thirds majority needed in the order of clerics to give final approval to a bill to allow women to be ordained. On that occasion, the Archbishop of Wales, the Most Rev Alwyn Rice Jones, said the bishops would be bringing the matter back to the governing body in 12 months' time. That they duly did, and yesterday the bill reached its final crucial stage.
"Y mae wedi dod yr amser," said the Archbishop. "The time has come. He argued that in Wales they risked being out of line with the rest of the Anglican Communion. "If we reject this bill today, it will serve to isolate us from our sister provinces," he said.
The bishops made one major concession to opponents of women priests. They revised the pastoral guidelines accompanying the bill to announce their intention of appointing a bishop to undertake the pastoral oversight of those unable to accept women priests - a Welsh equivalent to the three "flying bishops" appointed by the Church of England.
This last minute change was only made known 24 hours before the vote took place. Nevertheless, one opponent of women priests, the Archdeacon of Margam, the Ven Martin Williams, argued that one bishop would not be enough to cover the whole of Wales. But he failed to persuade the governing body to accept an amendment which would have provided for the appointment of no fewer than three such bishops.
Summing up the debate, Archbishop Rice Jones suggested adding experience to the traditional threefold Anglican criterion of Scripture, tradition and reason.
"English bishops and bishops in other parts of the world tell me that women who have been ordained to the priesthood possess in abundance the gift of God's spirit," he said. "They are willing to serve in some of the most difficult and deprived areas in dioceses, and have been greatly appreciated by those to whom they have ministered. Now I think that is the acid test."