Gay marriage tears Anglican Church apart

THE global body of the Anglican Communion is presently divided by the recent action of the Church of England House of Bishops over the decision to permit homosexual clergy in civil partnerships within the episcopacy.
Reacting to the stand of the Church of England, primate of the Anglican Communion in Nigeria, the Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, has condemned the decision, saying that should the Church of England continue in such direction, the church in Nigeria would further separate itself from it.
Okoh stated this in a release made available to Sunday Tribune. According to him, “When the Church of England failed to exercise its legal and moral right to opt out of the civil partnerships legislation in 2005 warnings were given in England and around the Anglican Communion that this was a first step towards the recognition and institutionalization of behaviour contrary to the plain teaching of scripture and reaffirmed for all Anglicans by the 1998 Lambeth Conference in its Resolution 1.10. Sadly those warnings were ignored and we now face the next step in a process that could very well shatter whatever hopes we had for healing and reconciliation within our beloved Communion.”
He argued that though man usually falls short of the demands of God, it is imperative that the clear teachings of the Bible are not compromised. “Sadly we must also declare that if the Church of England continues in this contrary direction we must further separate ourselves from it and we are prepared to take the same actions as those prompted by the decisions of The Episcopal Church (USA) and the Anglican Church of Canada ten years ago,” he stated.
He regretted that such contentious decision was taken at a time when Archbishop Rowan Williams was about retiring as the Archbishop of Canterbury and with the election of Dr Justin Welby as the new Archbishop.
“We urge the House of Bishops to reconsider their decision so as to allow for a full, prayerful and sober reflection on the call on all clergy, especially bishops, to live holy lives and not encourage what are, at best, morally ambiguous partnerships that make it impossible for a bishop to be a wholesome example to the flock,” he said.
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