Anglican bishops gather amid schism over homosexuality

CANTERBURY, England — The world's Anglican bishops turned Saturday to the enormous task at the heart of their once-a-decade summit: trying to keep the Anglican family from breaking apart over the Bible and homosexuality.

With its private prayer phase over, the business of the Lambeth Conference begins, but it is hobbled by a boycott: about one-quarter of the invited bishops — mostly theological conservatives from Africa — are not attending.

The 650 bishops who are here include a mix of traditionalists, moderates and liberals, all with divergent ideas about what Anglicans should believe and how their fellowship should operate.

The conference's opening public worship is set for today in Canterbury Cathedral. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, has led a three-day closed-door session this week focused on the role of the bishops as seen through the Gospel.

Archbishop Williams designed the entire gathering without any votes or resolutions. Instead, the bishops will hold daily Bible study and small group discussions. They plan to release their collective "reflections" on the meeting when it ends Aug. 3.

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Anglican body, consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Bishop Robinson's election has also complicated Anglican relations with other Christians.

The Vatican's No. 2 official, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, said in a letter of greeting to the conference that was released Saturday night that, "New issues that have arisen in our relationship pose a further and grave challenge to the hope for full and visible unity that has been the long-standing goal" of their efforts to rebuild ties.

Anglicans split from Rome more than four centuries ago when English King Henry VIII bolted in 1534 after he was refused a marriage annulment. The Vatican has spoken against the Church of England's recent move to appoint women bishops.

Last month, Anglican conservatives — frustrated that Archbishop Williams hasn't done more to keep the U.S. church and other liberal Anglicans in line with traditional Bible teaching — formed a new global church network that circumvents the archbishop's authority but stops short of schism.

A few leaders of that movement are attending Lambeth, but most have stayed away. They released a statement ahead of today's service condemning "false teaching which justifies sin in the name of Christianity."

"These are not merely matters of different perspectives and emphases," they wrote. "They have led to unbiblical practice in faith and morals, resulting in impaired and broken communion. We long for all orthodox Anglicans to join in resisting this development."

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