The Church of England's (CofE) House of Bishops has declared that it "strongly supports" allowing women to become bishops in the church while adding that it remains committed to preserve an "honoured place" for Anglicans who can't accept the development.

"As previous debates have shown, a majority of the members of the House strongly support the admission of women to the episcopate. At the same time there remains a strong commitment on the part of the House to preserve an honoured place within the Church of England for those unable to receive this development," a statement released yesterday by the bishops reads.

The House of Bishops – one of three legislative bodies of the CofE consisting of all 44 of its diocesan bishops – met from May 17-18 to discuss a recent report from the church's Revision Committee that included draft legislation for allowing women to become bishops.

The 142 page report sparked a harsh backlash from conservative Anglicans, some of whom said they would leave the church unless significant amendments to the draft were made.

The conservatives, also referred to as "traditionalists," maintain that Apostolic teachings on male headship are "clear" in their principles of having men as exclusive leaders in the church.

Acknowledging the controversy over the issue, the House of Bishops said that they expect the church's July Synod, where the draft legislation will be officially debated, to be "one of the most demanding meetings of the Synod for many years."

"It will, in the view of the House, be an occasion when all concerned will need to listen with particular care to those with views that differ from their own and to acknowledge the passion and sincerity with which those views are held," the group said.

Responding to those that want a change in the CofE's legislative process, the House said that most of its members believe it is "crucial to keep faith with the present process."

"They see no grounds for believing that the issues with which the Church is grappling will become significantly easier to resolve with the passage of time," they said.

The bishops further noted that "it will be at least another two years before the mind of the Church of England can be determined at the final approval stage."

Since the measure, if approved by the synod, would need time for parliamentary approval, 2014 would be the earliest that the church could consecrate its first woman bishop.