Warring Anglicans must 'find solutions beyond schism'

BY RACHEL ZOLL
IN CANTERBURY
22/07/2008

The head of the Anglican Communion said the global fellowship faced ''one of the most severe challenges'' in its history, and told bishops at their once-a-decade Lambeth Conference that they must find solutions beyond schism.

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said that the most immediate Anglican need was for ''transformed relationships'' so their fellowship didn't break apart because of disputes over issues such as attitudes to the Bible, female priests and homosexuality. The communion has been in an uproar since 2003 when the Episcopal Church, the US Anglican body, consecrated the first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

''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 a speech to the 650 bishops at the assembly.

But he said the communion had survived other crises in its centuries of existence, and could overcome these troubles. The 77 million-member 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. the rest