July 2000 Synod requests theological study from House of Bishops on question of women bishops.
The prospect of women's elevation to the House of Bishops has been even more divisive.
Many clergy openly defy the House of Bishops on this already".
At a meeting of the House of Bishops, in Florida, Moore was called sternly to account by his conservative peers.
The decision was taken by the House of Bishops just before Christmas, but news of it emerged only on Friday.
This means that the earliest a woman might take her place in the House of Bishops is next summer.
Welby has said that he hopes the House of Bishops will have a 50/50 gender balance in 15 years' time.
All bishops are members of the House of Bishops, and the House of Deputies is made up of equal numbers of clergy and laity.
But several bishops with a range of views on homosexuality said they did not expect the House of Bishops to endorse the directive.
The new policy was introduced in December, when the House of Bishops, a body within the church, published a list of recent decisions.
