Archbishop of Canterbury Acts to Prevent Rift on Gay Bishop | NY Times

Archbishop of Canterbury Acts to Prevent Rift on Gay Bishop
By ALAN COWELL

LONDON, Aug. 8 - The Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the world's 79 million Anglican Christians, said today that he would convene an extraordinary meeting of Church leaders here to avert a schism over the confirmation of the first openly gay bishop in the United States Episcopalian Church.

The archbishop, Dr. Rowan Williams, regarded as first among equals in the Anglican Church, said the meeting would be held in London in October.

``I am clear that the anxieties caused by recent developments have reached the point where we will need to sit down and discuss their consequences,'' he said in a statement.

His office declined to elaborate on the precise agenda for the meeting, which immediately drew sharp criticism from both supporters and critics of homosexual priests, illuminating the broader, emotional debate threatening a church spread across 164 countries from Africa and elsewhere to the United States.

More at the New York Times

love that time of year!

I'm sorry to say. The Anglican community has become so big-tent that portions of the Church are unrecognizable from each other. I suspect some of the African churches would be happier caucasing with the Baptists.