Rowan Williams wrote on his Web site Monday that there are “two styles of being Anglican” and that both sides should work together to maintain the church.

Williams is the Anglican spiritual leader. His comments are in response to a decision by U.S. Episcopalian church last week to authorize bishops to bless same-sex unions and research an official prayer for the ceremonies.

The Episcopal Church caused an uproar among some Anglicans in 2003 by consecrating the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Williams, has struggled since to keep the communion unified.

Former Bishop John-David Schofield led the Diocese of San Joaquin to become the first full diocese to secede from the U.S. denomination in 2007. Four years earlier, Episcopalians consecrated their first openly gay bishop, setting off a wide-ranging debate within the church and upsetting conservative congregations.

Schofield ultimately was removed as head of the diocese and barred from performing any religious rites. He maintains he is an Anglican bishop under the worldwide church.

Episcopal leaders said Wednesday they were deposing all clergy who severed their ties and joined Schofield in affiliating with an Anglican archdiocese in Argentina.

Jerry Lamb, the new Episcopal Bishop of San Joaquin, called the decision to oust the clergy “heartbreaking.”

“But, the fact is, they chose to abandon their relationship with the Episcopal Church,” he said.

Schofield said in a statement Wednesday that Anglican leaders across the globe recognized the deposed clergy as priests and deacons in good standing.

“Clearly, the traditional understanding of what it means to be a member of this historic Communion has been tragically altered by this action,” he said. “The Episcopal Church needlessly isolates itself from their brothers and sisters around the world.”

In December, the breakaway diocese joined with three others and dozens of individual parishes in the U.S. and Canada to announce that they were forming a North American Anglican province to rival the Episcopal Church. Schofield said Wednesday that 23 dioceses now plan to affiliate with the new province.

Its future status in the worldwide Anglican Communion is unclear. It’s unprecedented for an Anglican national province to be created where a national church already exists.

(London) The Church of Scotland has voted in favor of appointing an openly gay minister.

The church’s ruling body voted 326 to 267 to support the appointment of the Rev. Scott Rennie, 37, who was previously married to a woman and is now in a relationship with a man.

Rennie was first appointed as a minister 10 years ago, but has faced opposition from some critics since he moved to a church in Aberdeen, Scotland, last year.

Protesters had lobbied the Kirk – the Church of Scotland’s ruling executive – over Rennie’s case, saying his appointment was not consistent with the teachings of the Bible.

“We are absolutely opposed to that on the basis of what God has to say about homosexuality in the Bible,” one opponent, Pastor Jack Bell of the Zion Baptist Church in Glasgow, Scotland, said.

The case has divided Scottish religious leaders. About 900 elders and ministers took part in a debate on Rennie’s case, but many chose to abstain from casting a vote.

Rennie said he believed religious conservatives were behind attempts to oust him from his post.

“The same talk was about when women were ordained and I think that argument suits those that don’t want any change,” he told Britain’s Sky News television on Saturday.

Following the vote to back Rennie, Scotland’s Equality and Human Rights Commission said the Church of Scotland had proven itself to be “a modern church for a modern Scotland.”

“We are certain that this decision will be welcomed by the majority of Scots and certainly the majority of Queen’s Cross parish in Aberdeen who overwhelmingly demonstrated their support for Mr. Rennie,” said Alyson Thomson, a commission spokeswoman.

An Anglican advisory panel also raised deep concerns about a North American province sought by theological conservatives to rival the Episcopal Church.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, will arrange professional mediation for all leaders involved in the North American conflict, leaders said.

“If a way forward is to be found and mutual trust to be re-established, it is imperative that further aggravation and acts which cause offense, misunderstanding or hostility cease,” the Anglican leaders said Thursday.

The statements were released as the Anglican archbishops, or primates, ended a five-day private meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria.

The 77 million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the Episcopal Church – the Anglican body in the U.S. – consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Robinson’s election intensified a long-running debate over what Anglicans should believe about salvation, sexuality and other issues.

Anglican leaders requested the moratoria in 2004, in a document known as the Windsor Report, and have been meeting regularly ever since to avoid a permanent break. Williams formed a six-member committee to advise him on how the communion can move forward. The group presented their recommendations at the Alexandria gathering.

The report painted a largely grim picture of the state of the fellowship, saying “positions and arguments are becoming more extreme” and rivals are engaging in “fear-mongering, deliberate distortion and demonizing.”

Four conservative U.S. dioceses and dozens of individual Episcopal parishes have voted to leave the national denomination since 2003. Many have affiliated with like-minded overseas Anglican leaders. The Anglican Church of Nigeria started a Convocation of Anglicans in North America, including breakaway Episcopal churches in Virginia.

The Anglican advisory panel said such overseas interventions in U.S. territory should stop and they urged an end to lawsuits over who gets to keep Episcopal property.

Of the North American province, the panel said it “foresees formidable problems in the way ahead,” saying it could become a “haven for discontented groups” and formalize a schism.

The top governing body of the Episcopal Church, the General Convention, will take up the moratoria at its July meeting in Anaheim, Calif. Several Episcopal dioceses have been developing prayers to bless same-sex couples despite the requested ban.

(Riverside, California) The feud between liberals and conservatives within the worldwide Anglican Church has grown wider with the decision by the Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese to call for the lifting of a moratorium on consecrating gay bishops.

Bishop J. Jon Bruno also told clergy in the diocese they could bless same-sex unions.

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

In 2006 at the urging of the titular head of the denomination, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Anglicans imposed a moratorium on elevating other gays to become bishops.

The Episcopal Church, the American branch of Anglicanism, signed onto the agreement as conservative parishes began leaving.

Last month the theologically conservative Diocese of Fort Worth voted to split from the liberal-leaning Episcopal Church, becoming the fourth whole diocese to leave the denomination. Last week the four dioceses and a handful of breakaway parishes founded the Anglican Church in North America – a move designed to remain within the Anglican communion but focus on conservative beliefs.

As the feud grew, LGBT Anglicans have said they were being marginalized.

On the weekend, the Los Angeles Diocese at its annual meeting overwhelmingly voted to call for the lifting of the moratorium.

The resolution stated that the moratorium violates church canons, which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

The Rev. J. Edwin Bacon of All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena called the moratorium “blatantly discriminatory.”

“It tells a lie about God’s love – radically inclusive love – for everyone.”

All Saints has a history of social activism.  Bacon told the synod that he recalled as a child that a pastor told his congregation that racial segregation was God’s will. Bacon said that in the same way some Episcopalians today use the Bible to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

The weekend vote means the issue will be brought before the Episcopal Church national convention in July.

About 80 percent of clergy and parishioners in the Texas diocese supported the break in a series of votes at a diocesan convention.

The Steering Committee North Texas Episcopalians, an umbrella group for those who want to stay with the denomination, plans to reorganize the diocese. They promised that “the Episcopal Church’s work of Christian ministry and evangelization will go forward” in the region.

A lengthy, expensive legal battle is expected over who owns Episcopal property and funds. The Fort Worth diocese oversees more than 50 parishes and missions serving about 19,000 people. The Steering Committee estimates that at least five parishes and hundreds of other churchgoers will remain with the New York-based national church.

The other seceding dioceses are Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., where a legal fight over assets is already under way. National church leaders are helping local parishioners reorganize each diocese.

All four withdrawing dioceses are aligning with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, to try to keep their place in the world Anglican Communion.

The vote is the latest fallout from the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

The 77-million-member Anglican fellowship, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, has roots in the missionary work of the Church of England. Most overseas Anglicans hold traditional views of the Bible and Robinson’s consecration has moved the global communion toward the brink of schism. Breakaway U.S. leaders hope to form an Anglican province in North America.

Years before Robinson’s election, Episcopalians and Anglicans were already divided over how they should interpret Scripture on issues ranging from salvation to sexuality. That rift broke wide open when the New Hampshire bishop was installed.

“Some have encouraged us to stay and fight as the faithful remnant in (the denomination), to work for reform from within,” Bishop Jack Iker said in his speech before the balloting.

“I can only reply by quoting the saying that `the definition of insanity is to keep on doing the same thing, expecting different results,’” he said. “The time has come to choose a new path and direction, to secure a spiritual future for our children and our grandchildren.”

Of the four withdrawing dioceses, only Pittsburgh ordains women. In 2006, the Episcopal Church elected its first female leader, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Nationally, most of the 2.1 million Episcopalians don’t consider their theological differences cause to leave the denomination, which has more than 100 dioceses. Outside the four that are splitting off, church officials estimate that about 100 additional parishes of a total of more than 7,000 have withdrawn on their own.

However, the secessions have a large cost to the national church, not only in legal expenses and lost donations from the dioceses, but also in damage to the Episcopal public image as the U.S. church struggles to keep its place in the global Anglican family.

The Diocese of Quincy, Ill., took the vote at its annual meeting that ends Saturday.

Two other dioceses – San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., and Pittsburgh – have already split off. Next weekend, the Diocese of Fort Worth, Texas, will vote whether to follow suit.

The three breakaway dioceses are aligning with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in Argentina, to try to keep their place in the world Anglican Communion. The 77-million-member Anglican fellowship, which includes the U.S. Episcopal Church, has roots in the missionary work of the Church of England.

Meanwhile, National Episcopal leaders are reorganizing the seceding dioceses with local parishioners who want to stay in the church. Complex legal fights have already started in San Joaquin over control of millions of dollars in diocesan property and assets.

The head of the New York-based denomination, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, said in a statement Saturday: “We lament the departure” in Quincy.

The Quincy diocese, based in Peoria, has 24 churches and missions, and about 1,800 members.

The Rev. John Spencer, a diocesan spokesman, said local leaders would comment after the convention concludes. Clergy and lay delegates at the Quincy meeting approved withdrawal on a 95 to 26 vote.

Episcopalians and their fellow Anglicans have been debating for decades over how they should interpret what Scripture says on issues ranging from salvation to sexuality.

Tensions erupted in 2003 when the denomination consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, pushing the Anglican family toward the brink of schism. The majority of overseas Anglicans hold traditional views of Scripture and believe the Bible bars gay relationships. Many have pushed for the ouster of the Episcopal Church from the communion.

Within the U.S. church, the outlook is different. Most of the 2.2 million Episcopalians don’t consider their theological differences cause to leave the denomination.

Still, several Episcopal conservative leaders have concluded they could no longer remain and have begun building direct links with sympathetic Anglicans in other countries.

The Anglican Church of Nigeria has formed a Virginia-based network of Episcopal breakaway parishes, called the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Some individual Episcopal parishes have separately aligned with Anglican provinces in Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda.

Bishop Robert Duncan, head of the breakaway Diocese of Pittsburgh, is among leaders trying to form a North American province for Episcopal traditionalists that would rival the U.S. church.

Dr. Jeffrey John is said to be on a short list to become Bishop of Bangor in North Wales.

The Church of England and the Church of Wales are separate entities, although both are part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

John, who currently is Dean of St. Albans in England, was on a short list five years ago to be elevated to the Church of England, Bishop of Reading. The decision came shortly after the U.S. branch of Anglicanism made the openly gay Rev. Gene Robinson the bishop of New Hampshire.

The furor by conservatives within the worldwide denomination over Robinson led to John withdrawing his name from consideration for the bishopric of Reading.

Divisions between worldwide church conservatives and liberals over the role of gays in the faith has persisted.

Last month, at the once-a-decade meeting of bishops from around the globe, more than 200 theologically conservative bishops staged a boycott. Nevertheless, the Lambeth Conference ended with a call by the titular leader of Anglicans not to consecrate any other gay bishops for the time being.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the Anglican Communion needs “space for study and free discussion without pressure” about whether to accept changes in the traditional biblical understanding of openly gay clergy and same-sex relationships.

News that John under consideration to be a bishop in Wales has once again fueled deep divisions within the Anglican Church.

Like Bishop Robinson, John is in a committed relationship.  Two years ago, he entered a civil union with his longtime lover, Grant Holmes, also an Anglican priest. Both men maintain they are celibate.

John is reportedly among several candidates under consideration to be Bishop of Bangor. Despite Archbishop of Canterbury Williams’ opposition to gay bishops, he has no direct authority over the Church in Wales.

The head of the Welsh branch of Anglicanism is the Archbishop of Wales, Dr. Barry Morgan.

Morgan is a liberal and has in the past said he would be willing to consecrate an openly gay bishop.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the Anglican family’s most immediate need is for “transformed relationships” so they don’t break apart over homosexuality and the Bible.

“We all know that we stand in the middle of one of the most severe challenges to have faced the Anglican family in its history,” he said in an address to the 650 bishops at the assembly.

But he said the world fellowship has survived other crises in its centuries-long history, and he has faith that church leaders can overcome the most recent troubles.

“Whatever the popular perception, the options before us are not irreparable schism or forced assimilation,” Williams said. “It is not an option to hope that we can somehow just carry on as we always have.”

Williams made the comments as church leaders in Canterbury emerged from days of prayer and turned to the business of their meeting. In Bible study and small group discussion, they will try to rebuild the ties among Anglican national churches that shattered after the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

The work of the meeting, which runs through Aug. 3, is complicated by a boycott. About one-quarter of the invited bishops – theological conservatives mostly from Africa – stayed away because Williams invited bishops from the U.S. and elsewhere who accept gay relationships.

Williams called their absence a “wound” and asked participants to pray for the boycotters. He barred Robinson and a few other problematic bishops from the conference.

Still, Robinson is in Canterbury, staying on the outskirts of the meeting, working with advocates for Anglican gays and lesbians and hoping to meet as many overseas Anglican bishops as possible.

The 77-million-member Anglican Communion is a global fellowship of churches that trace their roots to the missionary work of the Church of England. It is the second-largest group of churches in the world, behind Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians.

Anglicans have long held together divergent views of Scripture and ritual. But those divisions have been widening as Anglican churches in the developing world, where strict Bible interpretation is the norm, have become the biggest and fastest-growing in the communion.

Last month, a group of Anglican conservatives from Africa, Australia and elsewhere formed a new network within the fellowship that challenges Williams’ authority, but stops short of schism. Some of the network organizers are attending Lambeth, but most are staying away.

Other religious groups are facing similar divisions over how they should interpret Scripture, and they are closely watching the outcome of the assembly. Several Vatican officials are among the ecumenical participants at Lambeth.

The meeting was designed without any votes or legislation, and no one expects the Anglicans to resolve their problems by the assembly’s end. Organizers instead hope their discussions will help clarify what direction they should take to stay together.

“A Lambeth Conference is not a political meeting about organization or structure alone, but it is a spiritual meeting,” said Archbishop Phillip Aspinall, head of the Anglican Church of Australia. “We must go into this confident that a way has been found to the Father … . We must be confident that that way is there.”