The Church of England has taken the historical step of beginning the process to allow women bishops after voting in favour of the proposal at the General Synod on Monday.

Following four hours of impassioned debate, the General Synod voted overwhelmingly in favour of beginning the process which will remove all legal obstacles to women becoming bishops within the Church.

The Rt Rev Tom Butler, Bishop of Southwark, who proposed the motion, pointed to the 17-year long history of women in ministry within the Anglican Communion as good reason to support his proposal.

"In no way can it be claimed that in seeking at this time to test the mind of the Church of England we act hastily or precipitately," said Rev Butler.

He added: "I believe that there are good ecclesiological and theological reasons why women should now be able to be ordained bishop."

The victory for pro-women campaigners is not without controversy, however, with critics warning of a possible split within the Church.

The campaign against the move to ordain women bishops was led by the Bishop of Chichester, the Rt Rev John Hind, who said that more time was needed to hold a proper debate within the Church on the Rochester report.

The Bishop of Rochester outlined the arguments for and against the ordination of women bishops in a report published by him earlier in the year.

The Bishop of Chichester said: "What matters is not only whether it is right to have women bishops but also what it means to be a Church, what is the place of bishops in it and what we do when we disagree."

The proposal only just managed to secure the two-thirds majority in the House of Laity, which will be needed to conclude the legislation when it comes for its final approval in about seven years’ time.

A number of proposed amendments to the legislation designed to delay the process were all defeated, but resistance to the proposal was nonetheless greater than many expected. The fear also holds that the gap might close when a newly elected Synod will come together to debate the details of the legislation in February next year.

Over 400 clergy have already left the Church in opposition to the ordination of women priests, costing the Church £26 million in hardship payments to date.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams disagreed with the Bishop of Chichester’s claim that insufficient debate had been conducted on the issue, saying that further theological exploration of the matter could take place parallel to the legislative process.

The Rev Jenny Thomas was one of many speakers who also rebuked opponents to the bill for such discrimination against women that was vastly out of touch with the attitude of society and with possibly detrimental consequences for the Church.

The Rev Thomas said: "How can we speak to the nation about justice when we can’t organise ourselves in a just way."

Valerie Bryden, one of the few women to oppose the reform, said, however, that more theological work needed to be done on the issue and that women bishops would do "irreversible damage" to the Church.

After division by Houses on the main motion, the voting figures for the House of Bishops were 41 for and six against, for the House of Clergy 167 for and 46 against and for the House of Laity 159 for and 75 against.