Dr Rowan Williams warns of church split over US decision to ignore ban on homosexual clergy

Dr Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, has said he regrets a decision by the US Episcopal church to ignore a ban on ordaining gay bishops and lobby for their inclusion.

Williams’s comments at the general synod in York were in response to a vote held yesterday in Anaheim, California, where the Episcopal church of the United States is meeting for its triennial gathering.

Representatives from the house of deputies, one of two legislative branches in the US church, voted to adopt a resolution declaring the ordination process open to “all individuals”.

If passed by the house of bishops this week, the resolution will be a blow for Williams, who went to Anaheim last week to urge the Americans to show restraint over homosexual clergy.

In a sermon last Thursday, he told the congregation his debut at the general convention was tinged with “hopes and anxieties”.

“Along with many in the communion, I hope and pray that there won’t be decisions in the coming days that will push us further apart. If we – if I – had felt that we could do perfectly well without you, there wouldn’t be a problem.”

Williams arrived in York last Friday for the general synod, the Church of England’s governing body, and answered questions on the Anglican communion.

When told by a synod member, Chris Sugden, that the house of deputies was pressing for the ordination of all individuals to the episcopate, he replied: “It remains to be seen whether the house of deputies will be endorsed by the house of bishops. If they choose to block that then the moratorium stands.

“I regret the fact there is no will to observe a significant part of the moratoria,” he added, referring to three bans aimed at keeping the Anglican communion together.

Gay bishops have proved to be a headache for Williams, who has struggled to maintain harmony in the Anglican communion.

The dissent culminated in an open revolt last year, with the boycott of hundreds of bishops from the flagship Anglican conference and the establishment of a worldwide network for conservatives.

Disaffected Episcopalians in the US have severed their ties with their mother church, setting up a rival church and appointing an archbishop.

This week, more than a thousand representatives from the Church of England endorsed the launch of a UK fellowship for congregations and clergy unhappy with the Church of England’s fuzzy position on the blessing of same-sex unions, the ordination of women and homosexual priests.

To compound Williams’s woes, delegates at the general convention will also debate blessing same-sex unions and consider whether gender-neutral liturgies should be introduced.

Some fear what the changes will mean for the conservative voices within the Episcopal church.

The Rev Ralph Stanwise, from the diocese of Quincy, said: “If we overturn the moratorium we will in effect be urging many remaining conservatives and moderates among us and in our home dioceses, especially our most fragile ones, to search for the exit signs.”