A PRIEST is leading calls to establish a church with male-only clergy in response to the prospect of female bishops.

The vicar of St Stephen's, Lewisham High Street, believes women priests and bishops are a break with tradition and says Jesus only chose male apostles.

As a founding member of the Forward in Faith movement, which wants a "free province" of male-only clergy within the church, the Reverend Geoffrey Kirk is a controversial figure.

But the vicar of St Stephen's for 25 years says the group is only trying to maintain what the Church of England stands for.

Mr Kirk said: "The tradition of the church from the time of apostles until 1992 was only men could be ordained. We reject female clergy as not consistent with the teaching of the church or the New Testament."

Currently, churches which do not want female priests can opt out of the control of their bishop and join one which does not ordain women.

However Mr Kirk says the problem would be made worse by having female bishops because, in the eyes of Forward in Faith, they would not be true bishops, and so any priests they ordained would also not be seen as genuine.

But he denies his views are about preserving purity in the church: "This is nothing to do with contamination and all sorts of things these women like to talk about.

"All this talk of taint is complete nonsense."

Now a report on the possibility of female bishops by the Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali, has said a separate all-male led church will be an option the church's decision making body the Synod considers next year.

Rev Elizabeth Macfarlane, chairman of Group for the Rescinding of the Act of Synod which supports women clergy, opposes Mr Kirk's views.

She said: "The vast majority of the church is not in the same place as Mr Kirk and most are in the position of saying yes to women priests and bishops.

"It is not a matter of jettisoning tradition but of how we can most effectively do what the church does, and that includes having female clergy who are called by God.

"We feel there are much bigger and more important issues the church can be confronting at the moment, such as poverty."

If the church agrees to accept women bishops the first is not expected to be in position until 2009.