Hundreds of women clergy and supporters have marched through central London to celebrate 20 years since the Church of England first ordained female priests.

The procession began at Westminster Abbey and ended at St Paul’s Cathedral, where Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby delivered a sermon shown on big screens outside the famous church.

“As we celebrate how far we have come, let us be mindful of the distance yet to travel,” he said on Saturday.

“In 20 years we have come a long way.

“How did we not see that women and men are equally icons, witnesses, vessels of Christ for the world?”

The general synod voted in 1992 to allow women priests, with the first ordinations taking place two years later.

All 700 women ordained in 1994 were invited, and all dioceses in England were thought to be represented.