LONDON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- Britain's Anglican bishops met Wednesday in London to discuss the crisis over homosexuality which is threatening the denomination's unity.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and the Archbishop of York, David Hope, who has said his own sexuality is a "gray" area, led the closed-door summit, the Times of London reported.
The meeting was focused on an October report by church leaders that examined the growing schism between western bishops who promote same-sex unions and the Anglican Communion's majority members, mostly in the Third World, who endorse a traditional, biblical view of sexuality. The communion includes about 75 million members worldwide.
The October report called for an end to same-sex blessing ceremonies and the consecration of gay bishops, but such ceremonies continue to be widely performed across Britain. Indeed, the nation's Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement expects 1,000 a year once a civil partnerships law takes effect next year.
Wednesday's meeting is designed to prepare for a broader January meeting on the October report as well as a General Synod in February, in which Anglican leaders in each of the communion's 38 provinces are supposed to act on the report's recommendations.
