Global dissent over consecration of gay bishop
Spiritual leaders of more than 50 million members of the Anglican Church in Africa have condemned the appointment of the first openly gay Anglican bishop.
Archbishop Peter Akinola, leader of the Nigerian Church, said the consecration of Gene Robinson meant a “state of impaired communion” now divided the Anglican Church.
“We deplore the act of those bishops who have taken part in the consecration,” he said in a statement on behalf of the Primates of the Global South.
Archbishop Akinola said that the consecration of the Reverend Gene Robinson violated “the clear and consistent teaching of the Bible”.
Reverend Robinson was formally consecrated in a ceremony in the American state of New Hampshire on Sunday. The service was held amid very tight security at a specially converted ice-hockey arena in the town of Durham and was attended by 4,000 people, including the new bishop’s partner of 15 years, Mark Andrew.
Irish Primate Archbishop Robin Eames, head of a commission to preserve the Church’s future, said he hoped a looming split could be avoided.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams – the head of the global Anglican Church – said: “The divisions now arising are a matter of deep regret – they will be all too visible in the fact that it will not be possible for Gene Robinson’s ministry to be accepted in every province in the communion.”
Several African bishops vowed to disassociate themselves from the New Hampshire diocese and the United States Anglican Church.
The bishop of the Australian city of Sydney, Peter Jensen, criticised the appointment, saying his diocese could not recognise Bishop Robinson because homosexual practice was at odds with the scriptures.
