More female priests are joining the Church of England than male ones for the first time ever, it can be disclosed as it takes another step towards the introduction of women bishops.
Official figures show that 290 women were ordained in 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available.
By contrast, just 273 men entered the priesthood.
The watershed moment comes less than 20 years since the Church first allowed women to be priests, in the face of opposition from Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals who believe that only men can be church leaders.
Back in 1994, just 106 women were ordained compared with 299 men.
Overall there were still more than twice as many ordained men (8,087) as women (3,535) in 2010.
The full article can be found here: The Telegraph