Australia's Anglican Church operates as a confederation of sorts, with each diocese making its own decisions over governance. Sydney's unwillingness to address the ordination of women other than as deacons – setting it apart from dioceses in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Canberra – has frustrated liberal factions within the Anglican community.

''While we support women being ordained in all areas of ministry of the church, I certainly don't expect the diocese of Sydney is going to shift from its perspective any time soon,'' said the rector of St James, King Street and supporter of equality in the church, Andrew Sempell.

''I think it's sad that in Australia we have such a fractured structure for the Anglican Church such that on these important leadership issues dioceses can be out of step with each other and out of step with the wider community.''

The Reverend Dorothy Lee, head of Trinity College Theological School in Melbourne, said the Church of England result was ''a great victory'' and step towards equality but any such move in Sydney would be anathema to its evangelical stance.

''Sydney is very much out on a limb here, they believe in male headship; it's a view that Sydney has emphatically emphasised and, if anything, even more emphasised in recent years,'' Professor Lee said.

But Bishop Forsyth stood by a degree of unity among his cohorts and said that "real Christian fellowship and love" presides over the actions of Australian bishops.

"We don't deny there are differences, nor do we let those differences stop us from relating as closely as we can as Christians,'' he said.

''We are united in that we really are trying to give women a very big role in the church but we disagree about where that is.''

The Anglican Church League president, the Reverend Gav Poole, said that while he disagrees with the ''inevitable'' Church of England decision, he admires its approach, which has made allowances for minorities who do not support the ordination of women.

England's decision came two years after a similar vote failed on grounds that it did not include provisions for those who in good conscience could not accept the leadership of a woman.

Echoing both sides of the ordination divide, any shift in local attitudes was likely to be a long way off, Mr Poole said.

''Sydney is known around the world for its evangelical character and its holding to the authority of the scriptures,'' he said. ''That's a long tradition here in Sydney and something we have always appreciated.''

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