Christopher Knight, a theologian and member of Forward in Faith, said that the grouping counted at least 800 Anglo-Catholic priests among its members and "the signs are that more priests will leave from the Anglo-Catholic wing and their churches will be seriously affected".

BBC: Five Anglican bishops join Catholic Church

Bishop Broadhurst, the leader of the traditionalist and mainly Anglo-Catholic organisation Forward in Faith, had already announced in October that he would convert to Rome.

BBC: Five Anglican bishops join Catholic Church

Twenty years after the introduction of women priests, the issue has continued to divide traditionalists - among those on the Church's evangelical and Anglo-Catholic wings - from reformers.

BBC: UK