Anglican divisions lurk under surface of Lambeth

Ever since the Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, accepted an openly gay bishop in 2003, there have been rumbles of a fracture in the 77-million-member denomination over whether there is only one true way to read Scripture.

But today, the Communion still stands, if frayed around the edges, as an estimated 650 bishops from the Anglican world gather in Canterbury, England, for the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, 18 days of conversation and prayer. And there are no voting sessions that could disrupt the hoped-for collegiality. At the last Lambeth gathering was a vote, led by conservative African bishops, that homosexuality was against Scripture.

Now, "they want a low-key educational and fellowship-oriented conference to help people understand each other better," says Jim Naughton, canon for communications for the diocese of Washington, D.C., which supports gay clergy.

"We need ...