American bishops last night voted in favour of ordaining gay and lesbian clergy, casting fresh doubts on the unity of the Anglican communion.
After more than two hours of discussion and with a standing-room-only crowd watching, the house of bishops of the Episcopal church chose to adopt resolution D025, which opens "any ordained ministry" to gay and lesbian people.
They voted 99-45, with two abstentions, for the resolution, which now goes to a committee that must make a recommendation to two legislative houses about whether to agree with it, amend it or defeat it.
It will be a blow for the archbishop of Canterbury, who has spent much of his tenure trying to hold the Anglican communion together amid deep differences over the issue of homosexuality.
Some US conservatives have severed ties with the Episcopal church (TEC) to form their own church and they enjoy the support of populous African churches, which claim to have half of the 80m members of the communion.
Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, who is at the eye of the storm because he is in a long-term relationship with a man, had urged his fellow bishops to support the measure, saying it was time for them to "stand up and be the church God is calling us to be".
Some delegates at the TEC's general convention in Anaheim, California, deny the resolution overturns BO33, which urged restraint in consenting to the consecration of bishops whose "manner of life" challenged the rest of the Anglican communion – a challenge widely understood to refer to gay bishops in relationships. They also deny they are overturning a moratorium on ordaining gay clergy, saying the resolution does not expressly do that.
Equality campaigners, however, are clear about the meaning and consequences of yesterday's decision.
Susan Russell, from Integrity USA, said it was "another step in the Episcopal church's 'coming out' process."
In a separate development that could intensify the crisis, a resolution asking for the collection and development of resources and liturgies of blessing for same-sex unions to be discussed at TEC's next general convention was also passed to the house of bishops for endorsement.
Robinson's 2003 consecration brought the Anglican fellowship to the brink of schism. Last month, breakaway Episcopal conservatives and other like-minded traditionalists formed a rival national province called the Anglican church in North America.
To calm tensions, the Episcopal general convention three years ago passed a resolution that urged restraint by dioceses considering gay candidates for bishop. No other Episcopal bishops living openly with same-sex partners have been consecrated since then.
Presiding bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who leads the Episcopal church, was among the bishops who voted to approve the declaration. The statement also affirms the Episcopal church's commitment to participate in and help fund the Anglican communion, the third-largest grouping of churches worldwide, behind the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian churches.
The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, the Anglican spiritual leader, attended the Anaheim meeting in its opening days last week. He said: "I hope and pray that there won't be decisions in the coming days that could push us further apart."