Michael Brown.
Religious Affairs Correspondent
DEEP Church of England divisions over homosexuality dominated the General Synod yesterday, with the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, admitting that he is "burdened" by the bitter dispute that could end in schism.
The spectre of a break-up of the Church of England and the worldwide Anglican Communion – both headed by Dr Williams – has been caused by unilateral moves taken by two north American churches.
The Episcopal Church of the United States sparked a fur
ore among conservative Anglicans in Africa and Asia by ordaining Anglicanism's first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson.
There was further anger when a Canadian diocese became the first in the world officially to sanction a rite for same-sex unions – "marriages" in all but name. As a result the Africans and Asian churches are threatening to walk out of the Communion and set up a rival church.
Conservatives in England now fear similar ordinations of homosexuals and provision for gay marriages happening here.
The vexed issues are to be debated behind closed doors in Belfast next week at a meeting of the Anglican primates and the leaders of the 38 self-governing provinces that make up the Anglican Communion.
As Dr Williams spoke during yesterday's debate of the "agony" of the dispute over homosexuality which was, he said, "to do with truth and unity", it was confirmed that pro-gay liberals have been virtually ruled out of the running as successors to retiring Archbishop of York, David Hope.
Instead, a confidential statement drawn up by senior representatives in the broadly conservative York diocese, favours a more mainstream, conservative candidate.
The emergence of the document comes at a sensitive time for the C of E, which not only faces splits over homosexuality but is still reeling from the row over gay cleric Jeffrey John, who withdraw as Bishop of Reading in 2003 after objections.
Many in the church would like the next Archbishop of York to come from the liberal wing and to advance radical ideas.
But insiders say the diocese's statement, which carries great weight with the Crown Nominations Commission, calls for the next northern primate to be theologically orthodox.
The Commission, which meets later this month and again in May, will forward two names, usually in order of preference, to Downing Street for the Prime Minister to submit one to the Queen. Dr Hope's successor is expected to be named in June.
The Archbishop of Canterbury told Synod yesterday churches in the US and Canada had taken risks in what they had done.
And when a church took a risk there were consequences.
He said: "We are dealing with those consequences now. Part of the cost of recent events is it has weakened, if not destroyed, the sense that we are talking the same language in the Anglican Communion. And there is every indication that it's not going to get better in a hurry.
"Common language had been made almost impossibly difficult. It's a burden I bear at the moment. There will be no cost-free outcome in this. To put as bluntly as I can, there are no clean breaks in the Body of Christ."
The debate was about the Windsor Report, a document which Dr Williams commissioned in a bid to avert a schism.
The debate was opened by Bishop of Durham Tom Wright who admitted the Anglican Communion's roof was "beginning to cave in."
Synod welcomed the report and called on the worldwide primates to "take action... to secure unity and reconciliation within the communion."
