A "mind of the house" resolution adopted by the House of Bishops during its interim meeting in Portland, Ore., Sept. 22-28, will bring about the resignation of one of its members. The Rt. Rev. William C. Wantland, Bishop of Eau Claire, said he would resign before the canonical change addressed by the resolution would go into effect Jan. 1, 1998.

The resolution, adopted by the House of Bishops by a wide margin, states, "Resolved, it is the mind of this house that Canon III.8.1 is mandatory in all dioceses of this church." The legislation was proposed by Bishop Robert Rowley of Northwestern Pennsylvania on behalf of the Committee for Dialogue on Canon III.8.1. That committee is recommending to the 1997 General Convention four resolutions amending that canon to ensure women priests will be ordained and will function in all dioceses.

"This will force priests, deacons and lay persons out of the church," said Bishop Wantland, moments after the vote of 122 yes, 17 no and 18 abstentions was announced. "I will resign, perhaps at the end of 1997."

The resolutions, contained in the report of the dialogue committee, will have to be adopted by the 1997 General Convention in order to effect a canonical change, but Bishop Wantland, a member of the dialogue committee, called that "a foregone conclusion." He said he was not surprised by the outcome, but was amazed by the vote total.

"I think this is a watershed vote," he said. "It's the first time in the history of the American church that a substantial segment has been deliberately opted out."

The resolution to go before General Convention states:

’Ä¢ "No one shall be denied access to the ordination process, nor postulancy, candidacy or ordination in any parish or diocese of this church solely on the account of sex;

’Ä¢ "The ecclesiastical authority shall not deny or refuse to accept letters dimissory on account of sex;

’Ä¢ "No member of the clergy shall be denied a license solely on account of sex;

’Ä¢ "Sex alone shall not be a factor in the ecclesiastical authority's determination of whether such person is a duly qualified priest."

Bishop Wantland's diocese is one of four most affected by the legislation. In Eau Claire, Fort Worth, San Joaquin and Quincy, women are not ordained as priests because of the theological positions of the bishops, nor licensed to function there. In some other dioceses women have not been ordained, but the diocesan bishops have stated they are willing to do so.

The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Bishop of Quincy, and the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth, said they also were not surprised by the outcome. "I'm going to try to be a faithful bishop and to make Jesus Christ known, worshiped and adored," Bishop Ackerman said.

The vote followed the only real debate of the meeting. More than 30 bishops spoke to the issue following presentations by six members of the committee on dialogue.

"It's time for us to clarify a situation from 19 years ago (when ordination of women was adopted)," said the Rt. Rev. Ted Eastman, retired Bishop of Maryland, during the debate.

"This church is polarized enough," said the Rt. Rev. Peter Beckwith, Bishop of Springfield. "If this is adopted, it will be polarized more."

The Rt. Rev. George Hunt, interim bishop in Hawaii, asked if the four diocesan bishops who do not ordain women would be willing to work between now and the next General Convention on implementation of the resolutions in their dioceses. Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin said women now have access to the ordination process in all four dioceses, and they are ordained priests by other bishops.

Before the vote, Bishop Peter Lee of Virginia proposed a substitute resolution stating that the house receive the report, request the committee to continue its work for the remainder of the triennium, affirm the ministry of women, and that it expects the four dioceses to work diligently for the inclusion of ordained women. That motion failed, 101-57.

The debate was preceded by a presentation by six members of the dialogue committee. The Hon. James Bradberry of Southern Virginia, the Rt. Rev. Frank Allan of Atlanta and the Rev. Canon Gay Jennings of Ohio spoke on behalf of the majority opinion, and Bishop Wantland, David Rawson of Pennsylvania and Rita Moyer of Pennsylvania represented the minority opinion.

Judge Bradberry spoke of "the pain your unwillingness to enforce this canon has caused others," and "stories of non-inclusion in diocesan leadership ... name-calling."

"The committee is not in the business of legislating persons out of the Episcopal Church because of their views," said Canon Jennings. "By adoption of the resolution, you will express your collegiality with the women you ordained."

Mr. Rawson said the issue "will not go away," and "No group of 20th-century Americans will take the repeal of their religion lying down."

"Here it seems to say of the church, 'love it or leave it'," said Mrs. Moyer. "Why must this one issue be forced ... mandated?"

Before voting, bishops spent time in small groups discussing the presentations and the debate, as well as time in silent prayer.

Bishop Rowley emphasized that the legislation will "not require anyone to ordain women or to leave the Episcopal Church," and said, "This decision is not being made today. It was made 19 years ago." He said he would be willing to work with the four dioceses in implementing the canon.

The resolutions will be presented to Executive Council for discussion when that body meets in Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 31-Nov. 4.