Another group of
Anglican leaders is planning to boycott the fellowship's
once-a-decade assembly as divisions over the Bible and
homosexuality threaten to split the world Anglican
Communion.
The House of
Bishops of the Episcopal Church of Rwanda said June 19 that
its members won't attend the Lambeth Conference next year in
England because some Rwandan bishops weren't invited.
A few Rwandan
bishops oversee the Anglican Mission in America, a
breakaway group of theologically conservative parishes that
are not recognized by the Anglican Communion.
The communion's
spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan
Williams, has said that he did not invite bishops connected
to the Rwanda-led mission or to other breakaway groups
because he believed it would disrupt efforts at the
conference to keep Anglicans together.
The world
fellowship has been in an uproar since the liberal-leaning
Episcopal Church USA, which is the Anglican body in the
United States, consecrated its first openly gay
bishop, V. Gene. Robinson of New Hampshire.
Williams also did
not invite Robinson to next year's gathering. The
archbishop also did not invite Bishop Martyn Minns, a former
U.S. Episcopal priest who is overseeing a group of
breakaway conservative Episcopal parishes overseen by
the Anglican Church of Nigeria.
Nigerian
archbishop Peter Akinola has said that not inviting Minns
''will be viewed as withholding invitation to the
entire House of Bishops of the Church of Nigeria.''
On May 30 the
head of the Anglican Church of Uganda, Archbishop Henry
Orombi, said he will not attend the Lambeth gathering
because Williams invited U.S. bishops who had
participated in Robinson's consecration. (AP)