Dioceses reject ‘Covenant’ to bind Anglican Communion

LONDON — A proposed “Covenant” aimed at ensuring unity across the worldwide Anglican Communion appears to have failed, leaving the world’s third-largest Christian body facing an uncertain and likely fragmented future.

The Covenant, born of an idea in 2004 to try to set boundaries in belief and practice for the Communion’s 40 member churches, appears dead after a majority of dioceses within the Church of England voted to reject it. The Covenant had been billed as a way to heal the growing splits within Anglican churches over a range of issues that centered on same-sex unions and homosexual bishops.

One of its biggest supporters was Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who backed the Covenant’s call to member churches not to take steps or adopt policies that could antagonize Anglicans in other countries.

Failure to abide by the Covenant would result in a kind of second-tier membership for independent-minded member churches.

Williams announced March 16 that he will step down at the end of the year to return to his roots in academia, depriving supporters of the Covenant their most powerful voice.