The Dean of Belfast has received a letter from an evangelical group in the Church of Ireland objecting about a senior American bishop that has been scheduled to preach on Sunday at the well-known St Anne’s Cathedral.

The American bishop that has once again been the centre of the controversy is Rev Frank Griswold – the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the USA (ECUSA).

The ECUSA has been at the heart of debate regarding homosexuality in the Church within the Anglican Communion over the past year. In 2003 the ECUSA appointed the openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, as the bishop of New Hampshire.

This incident instigated the huge split among Anglican leaders worldwide regarding the issue of homosexuals within the Church. This in turn led to the Windsor Report being published in October 2004 by the Lambeth Commission – a group set up to overcome and guide the Communion on the issue by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rev Rowan Williams.

The Chairman of the Lambeth Commission was the Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames, who has continually spoken of the need for the Church to find a way to overcome the problem and move forward.

Next week a meeting will take place in Newry, Northern Ireland between Primates from all over the Communion, for a major residential meeting and discussion on the Windsor Report.

The group known by some as the "Church of Ireland Senior Evangelical Society" or more formally Reform Ireland, is the evangelical group that has written the letter objecting to Griswold’s scheduled arrival at St Anne’s.

The open letter states that "the scripture forbids homosexual practice" and that "it is impossible to view Dr Griswold as other than a false teacher and one leading his Church away from Biblical truth."

A request was then made in the letter for Dr Houston McKelvey, the Dean of Belfast, to immediately withdraw his invitation to Griswold "or to offer a preaching engagement within the next few months to an orthodox Anglican leader who will teach obedience to the Scriptures."