Conservative Anglicans form new group

JERUSALEM, June 29 (UPI) -- Conservative Anglicans meeting in Jerusalem have declared a "church within the church."

About 300 bishops and archbishops attended the Global Future of Anglicanism Conference, The Times of London reported. They object to what they see as a lax attitude toward homosexuality, an issue that came to a head when the Episcopal Church in the United States allowed the consecration of an openly gay bishop.

In a statement released Saturday, the bishops insisted the new Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans is not a separate church. But they said the body would train its own priests. The group also plans to use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

Many of the dissidents are from South America and Africa. African churches are among the fastest-growing in the Anglican communion.

The bishops adopted what they called the "Jerusalem Declaration."

"We reject the authority of those churches and leaders who have denied the orthodox faith in word or deed," it reads.

The bishops apparently hope to avoid a long legal battle over church property while forming a group that will, in effect, be a separate church.