World Anglican leaders have demanded that the US Episcopal Church (ECUSA) unequivocally bar official prayers for gay couples and the consecration of more gay bishops, Monday 19th February.
The decision was made as a crunch Anglican Summit came to an end in Tanzania, with the Church desperately trying to repair the damage the North American arm of the Communion has caused.In a final statement to bring the six-day meeting to a close, leaders explained that the pledges made by the ECUSA for a moratorium on gay unions and consecrations have been so ambiguous that they have failed to fully mend "broken relationships" in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion.
The ECUSA was told to immediately clarify its position, and should submit its stance by 30th September or face a "damaged" relationship with other Anglican Churches.
The statement said: "This has consequences for the full participation of the church in the life of the communion."
The relations between the worldwide Communion has been getting steadily worse since 2003 when the ECUSA consecrated the first ever openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson.
The rift has brought the Anglican Communion close to schism over the past year with a clear divide forming between the North American Church and the African Church. Traditionalists from the so-called 'Global South' have committed themselves to the long-held Church faith that homosexuality is a sin, and have been outraged at the liberal stance to the issue taken by the Episcopal Church.
As tensions built over the Tanzania summit, the task of drafting the final statement for the 38 Anglican provinces took hours longer than expected.
The spiritual head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that the statement will "certainly fall very short of resolving all the disputes, but will provide a way of moving forward with dignity."
In 2006, the rift between traditionalists and liberals widened when the ECUSA installed new Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who immediately gave her firm backing to homosexuality in the Church.
Schori simply said in a brief statement after the meeting that talks among Anglicans must continue.
Damage to the worldwide communion has been extensive over the past six months as some US parishes have left the US Episcopal Church to affiliate with Anglicans in Africa. In particular, African Archbishop Peter Akinola has set up a network for conservative US parishes as a rival to the Episcopal Church.
A full and final Anglican Covenant, is still years away from being finalised, but proposals are likely to indicate that a Church could lose full membership in "extreme circumstances" but could take steps to regain its full member status if such an event should take place.
