Church asked to repent its sins

The African Anglican Church has given the US Episcopal Church until February to repent for consecrating a gay bishop, or it will be considered a different religion.

The move followed a six-day meeting of 300 African bishops, which saw members resolve to end theological training in the West and to set up their own institutions, BBC News reported.

Primates attending the African Anglican Bishops Conference responded strongly to the recent Windsor Report, a document intended to heal divisions in the Church.

The report called for liberal American bishops to regret the blessing of same-sex unions in North America and the consecration of openly gay bishop V. Gene Robinson in November last year.

The African primates urged the Episcopal Church USA and the Anglican Church of Canada to cease ordaining same-sex unions. Failure to do so would indicate that they have chosen to walk alone, the statement read.

The African bishops received a powerful endorsement from the Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who opened the conference by declaring homosexuality clearly unbiblical, unnatural and definitely un-African, Associated Press reported.

Further cracks have formed within the Canadian Anglican Church, with three Saskat-chewan congregations forming a new communion in protest against the blessing of homosexual unions.
Canadian bishops met this week to discuss the issue, although Archbishop Andrew Hutchison said at the Canadian General Synod in June the decision to bless same-sex couples was up to individual dioceses.

The archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen said the Anglican Church had already effectively split over homosexuality.