THE feisty article written by Katherine Macalister (How dare the church vote against women?, December 5), gives me the opportunity to tell her that the C of E is very much alive in having a core of members who care deeply about the value of the sacraments held by this church.

Loyal Anglicans who opposed the ordination of women were promised by the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament that they would receive the ministry of bishops and priests who held to the fact that Christ chose men to lead the church.

The recent rejection of females’ consecration to the bishopric accords with the grounds of scripture and tradition. As long as there are Anglican members who hold that view, Christian unity will remain a possibility.

To throw away the claim that the C of E holds in the validity of the sacraments is to reduce the church to a mere sect, such as the Methodists.

Only men at the altar can celebrate Communion validly. All are equal in the eyes of God.

The teaching of the church is for the benefit of mankind and the salvation of our souls. F

or centuries the Sacrament of the Mass has been inspired by The Holy Spirit. Modern man has not the right to change what God inspires.

Only those who seek the destruction of the C of E continue to reject the teaching of scripture.

ALBA THORNING, York Road, Headington, Oxford