The Lutheran Church of Norway voted last Friday to allow members in same-sex partnerships to serve in ordained ministry.

The vote came towards the end of a difficult week of debate on the issue during the Church's General Synod, held last Tuesday to Saturday.

The Church remains deeply divided over homosexuality, with many feeling that the acceptance of homosexuals in the clergy goes against Scripture.

Last Friday's compromise vote was testimony to the lack of clear consensus on homosexuals within the Church. While the long-standing absolute ban on employing homosexuals in the clergy has been lifted, the ultimate decision on whether or not to appoint them has been left to individual bishops to make.

General Synods in 1995 and 1997 established general guidelines that members living in registered same-sex partners were allowed to hold some positions in the Church, but not positions of ordained ministry.

In September, however, the Church's National Council told Synod that the split on homosexuality was so close that it now found it "difficult" to uphold earlier Synod decisions maintaining an outright ban and therefore recommended that general guidelines on appointments no longer be issued from the centre to bishops or appointing bodies.

The General Synod, the highest decision-making body of the Church of Norway, voted last Friday 50 - 34 in favour of admitting homosexuals to ordained ministry.

Reactions to the vote remain mixed. Marit Tingelstad, head of the Bishop's Council for southeastern Norway's Hamar district, told Norwegian radio network NRK: "This will create peace in the Church, and security for homosexual clergy."

Bishop Ole D Hagesaeter, of the Bjoergvin district, was quoted by the International Herald Tribune as saying, "This is a sad day for the Church. It will be a splitting factor and lead to many feeling homeless in the Church."