﻿The Church of England's General Synod looks almost certain to vote through the legislation for female bishops on Monday with even a leading opponent now saying he would "put good money on it".



Canon Simon Killwick, chair of the synod's Catholic group, which opposes the move, said: "I think it will go through. I'd put good money on it. There is a much greater sense of trust and mutual respect and goodwill than there was the last time the synod voted." Nonetheless, he said, he would again vote against the measure.

The archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who has championed the proposals, said: "In my heart, I think we are OK."

Should the measure fail to get the two-thirds majority it needs among the synod's lay members – it is certain to pass the separate votes of bishops and clergy – Welby will consult with his fellow bishops as to what should be done and make an announcement as soon as possible.

Only six lay members need to have changed their minds since the last vote, in 2012, when proponents of female bishops failed by a small margin to gain the required majorities in all three voting sections of the synod. Soundings conducted by pressure groups and the Church Times suggest that this has happened, after simplified legislation was introduced that seemed to give both sides greater clarity.

A diocesan bishop, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Synod would be crackers not to vote for this. Bonkers is another word I would use. It will provoke such a crisis nationally if it fails to go through this time. It would do irreparable damage to the church. People will simply not think we're credible and we won't be."

But one senior supporter of women's ordination, who has a role in the selection of bishops, warned the vote would not solve the problems. "I'm very, very hopeful of the outcome," the source said, "but the hard work begins with the vote. A change of culture is extremely difficult. Institutions are by nature conservative."

Welby suggested on Sunday, in an interview on the Andrew Marr Show on BBC1, that the first woman bishop could be announced before Christmas. If the legislation goes through, that process will not be complete until parliament has approved it and returned the law to the synod's November meeting, when it will formally come into effect. As a result, it is quite likely that the first woman will be only an assistant bishop. For bureaucratic reasons it is unlikely that the process to choose a diocesan bishop will be completed between the middle of November and the end of the year.