LONDON — Leaders of the Anglican Communion said Oct. 16 they would not discipline the Episcopal Church for its approval of an openly gay bishop, but warned that Episcopal policies on homosexuality threaten to “tear the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level.”
A two-day emergency summit of Anglican leaders said the future of the Anglican Communion “will be put in jeopardy” if V. Gene Robinson is installed as the next bishop of New Hampshire. The service is currently set for Nov. 2. The Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion, which is led by the archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams.
The 37 Anglican primates, or presiding bishops, also rebuked the U.S. church — along with the Vancouver-based Diocese of New Westminster — for allowing the blessing of same-sex unions. One primate, from the Philippines, did not attend the meeting.
“These actions threaten the unity of our own Communion as well as our relationships with other parts of Christ’s church, our mission and witness, and our relations with other faiths, in a world confused in areas of sexuality, morality and theology,” the primates said in a joint statement.
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