What is a woman? Church of England says there is no definition

London

What is a woman? This may sound like a start to a Shakesperean passage but when it came to Church of England this seemingly innocuous question assumed proportions that appeared to stump the best religious minds in the country. When asked this question, the church could answer

"There is no official definition"

Dr Robert Innes, a senior Bishop at the Church of England was quoted in a report in The Telegraph. Innes also said that the word woman was previously 'self-evident' but now 'additional care needed to be taken.

To be fair, Innes did mention the context of "complexities associated with gender identity", but on record admission of there being "no official definition" of woman has quite expectedly ruffled feathers.

Dr Innes was responding to a query “What is the Church of England’s definition of a woman?”

It was a written question to the General Synod, the legislative body of the church.

The comment has begun attracting flak from gender rights campaign groups.

"When the Government redefined women through the Gender Recognition Act, the Church of England could have stuck with its long-established understanding, which makes sense whether your starting point is biology or the Bible," said Maya Forstater, Executive director of the Sex Matters campaign group. She was quoted by The Telegraph

"It is shocking that they so readily gave up the definition of man or woman for the state to amend, as if this fundamental truth did not matter."