The thorny issue of women bishops could prove equally divisive as the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams fights to keep all the faithful in the Anglican fold.
The Bishop of Rochester, in Kent, Michael Nazir-Ali, author of a report on women bishops published last November, spelt out to the Synod the arguments for and against the historic move.
He said there are those who believe "the Church is facing a number of serious issues which threaten to divide it. Is this really the time to introduce another cause of division?"
Others, he said, argue that ordaining women bishops would improve relations with Methodists but could harm ties with Roman Catholics.
The Rochester report, eager to explore every avenue in a church ruled by consensus, has even suggested adopting a "men only" branch of the church to accommodate implacable foes of change.
As Jesus Christ's apostles were all men, traditionalist opponents believe there is no precedent in the Bible for women bishops.
But a decade after the Church of England ordained its first women priests, Liberal clerics say it is insulting not to let them hold positions of power. One in six of England's parish priests is a woman.
Now the Church of England has to decide whether it is time to let women through the stained-glass ceiling. The legislative process could be set in motion at the next Synod in July even though it could take up to four years for the first woman bishop to be ordained. Women bishops have already been ordained in the United States, Canada and New Zealand.