Rev Peter Ould, of Canterbury, said he had heard from other synod members who had also voted "no" incorrectly.

He added: "I've spoken to two members of the house of laity who were confused, one of whom was very clear that he voted the wrong way. It would need four members of the house of clergy to say that they made a mistake for the result to change.

We live and think synodically, in terms of parties, procedures and attitudes. We work on winning votes which means we develop well organised parties which meet and co-ordinate speeches and responses even to quite routine bits of legislation. We may not be at the stage of the House of Commons, with three line whips, but we have some resemblance to the Lords, with party groups and a mass of cross bench members whose vote is far less predictable.

York Minster disbanded its 30-strong ringing group in October in the culmination of a bitter and long-running dispute over safeguarding.

The mass dismissal caused an outcry among campanologists around the country, with some refusing to ring York's bells on Christmas Day in solidarity with their sacked colleagues. A petition for their reinstatement was signed by more than 18,000 people.

Rev Trott told the General Synod that administering banns was 'fraught with difficulties' and a cause of 'great concern and even stress' to clergy.

Clergy should be concerned with marriage teaching and preparation and not the 'heavy burden' of a legal role, he said.

"In Synod we have made considerable progress towards redirecting all our efforts and energy into intentional evangelism, renewal and reform," he said.