Bishops arrive at Lambeth Conference as schism threat looms

From The Telegraph (UK):

By Martin Beckford, Religious Affairs Correspondent

Last Updated: 10:10AM BST 16/07/2008

Hundreds of bishops from around the world are arriving in Canterbury for the start of the Lambeth Conference which threatens to be overshadowed by the threat of schism in the Anglican church.
The clergymen - and women - are to spend more than two weeks at the once a decade gathering of Anglican church leaders discussing the faith that holds them together and the issues which are driving them apart, such as homosexuality and the introduction of female bishops.

They will also work towards agreement on a new set of rules to govern all churches within the worldwide Anglican Communion - called a covenant - which it is hoped may avert the possibility of a split.

The meeting, held on the University of Kent's campus, comes after several months of growing tension for the church and pressure on its leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is trying to hold the warring factions together.

Last month 300 conservative bishops met in Jerusalem to announce the formation of a new church within a church for orthodox Anglicans who believe the Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong.

Most of the Gafcon movement's leaders are from developing nations in Africa, Asia and the Americas, and believe the "colonial" structure of Anglicanism is out of date.

Earlier this month the Church of England's governing body, the General Synod, voted to introduce women as bishops without any compromise measures which would have appeased Anglo-Catholics and conservative evangelicals, who believe the historic move goes against Scripture and tradition.

As a result of the divisions, more than one in four bishops are boycotting Lambeth, including all of the leaders of powerful churches in Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya as well as at least three Church of England bishops.

The run-up to the meeting this week has been dominated by one of the few bishops who has not been invited - the openly gay American bishop whose appointment triggered the current crisis over sexuality, the Rt Rev Gene Robinson.

At a church service in London on Sunday he was called a "heretic" by a protester in the congregation and was ordered to "repent".

After the 650 bishops arrive in Canterbury, they will spend three days in prayer and reflection before the conference begins in earnest with a service at Canterbury Cathedral led by Dr Rowan Williams.