Anglicans Move Closer to Split

Scores of Anglican bishops are boycotting the church's once-a-decade conference next month in favor of a conservative counter-meeting, the New York Times reports. The rival gathering, beginning Sunday in Jerusalem, results from a serious division in the denomination over homosexuality—and could be another step toward an irreparable break in the 77-million-member Anglican church.

Saying they've been "marginalized" by the American and Canadian churches' decision to accept same-sex unions and a gay bishop, the conservatives wrote in a manifesto, “There is no longer any hope, therefore, for a unified Communion." The Jerusalem conference is intended to be a forum for discussing potential next steps and is expected to draw 280 bishops and 750 laypeople. (More Anglican Church stories.)