Dr David Hope was key figure in creating "flying bishops"

Dr David Hope said it would be a '"tragedy" and a '"betrayal" if the 1993 compromise was rescinded.

Speaking in Leeds, the Dr Hope said the flying bishops had served the church well.

If the lobby to have them abolished succeeded, there would be a new crisis in the Church of England, he warned.

Special service

The archbishop was key figure behind the measure, drawn up in the aftermath of the vote to ordain women priests.

Flying bishops look after parishes which are against the ordination of women.

The archbishop's sermon was delivered at a special service at St Bartholomew's in Armley to mark the 10th anniversary of the agreement.

"I just wonder where now we might be without it, given that the provisions in the original measure enabling the ordination of women were both unrealistic and unworkable," he said.

Dr Hope added there was "no place for discourtesy, aggression, and even abuse" towards women who have been ordained.