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Conservatives are calling for the Episcopal Church to "comply" with the Windsor Report, a document drafted by Anglican leaders that asks the American church to stop ordaining gay bishops for now and not sanction rites for same-sex blessings until a broader consensus emerges.

One conservative group, the Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 American dioceses and about 900 parishes, is threatening to leave the Episcopal Church if it does not impose the moratoriums.

Schori allows the blessing of same-sex unions in her small desert diocese. After the national church recognized gay unions as part of its "common life" in 2003, Schori's diocese said it would "support relationships of mutuality and fidelity … between those persons for whom the celebration and blessing of a marriage is not available."

While her election is clearly historic—no other major American church has elected a woman to such a prominent position, although some have elected women to top leadership spots—her gender is also likely to be a complicating factor, both at home and abroad.

Three Episcopal dioceses—Fort Worth, Texas; Quincy, Ill.; and San Joaquin, Calif.—currently do not allow women to be ordained as priests, because they believe it is prohibited by Scripture.

Only the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand currently have women bishops, and several of the 38 provinces in the Communion do not allow women to be ordained as priests, much less bishops.

In the Church of England, the mother church of the Anglican Communion, evangelicals have said allowing women to serve as bishops would fracture the church's fragile unity. On June 5, a Vatican cardinal warned that allowing women bishops would make Catholic-Anglican unity "unreachable."

Copyright © 2006 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Douglas LeBlanc reported on the efforts of conservatives to push for a resolution for the church to follow the recommendations of the Windsor Report.

Weblog is linking to ongoing mainstream coverage of the convention.

Our full-coverage of the division in the Anglican Communion is collected on our site.

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June (Web-only) 2006, Vol. 50