The growing crisis in the Anglican Communion over attitudes towards practising homosexual clerics has prompted the Archbishop of Canterbury to call an emergency meeting of bishops in London in October.
Dr Rowan Williams, leader of the world's 70 million Anglican Christians, wants primates to discuss the impact of the appointment of a gay Episcopalian bishop in the United States, a move that threatens to cause a split in the Episcopalian Church as well as other Anglican denominations, notably the Church of England.
Dr Williams will send formal invitations next week to primates, who include archbishops and leaders of the faith's 38 "provinces", to attend the meeting in mid-October.
The meeting could coincide with publication by the church's think-tank of a planned discussion document on sexuality.
Dr Williams's office said yesterday that the effects of "recent developments" at a convention of Episcopalians in the US "were being felt throughout the Anglican Communion, and there was a need for the primates to meet to consider them".
On Tuesday the US convention named the Rev Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest who lives with another man, as bishop-elect of New Hampshire.
Leaders of other provinces, especially in developing countries, strongly opposed the decision, as did conservatives in the US.
By coincidence, Bishop-elect Robinson is due to be in Britain in late October to speak at a conference in Manchester organised by the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement from the 24th to the 26th.
Dr Williams is known to support gay clergy personally, but to fear a split in the church. His announcement yesterday was not welcomed by all interested parties.
The Rev David Phillips, general secretary of the Church Society, a conservative, evangelical UK grouping, said: "The assumption seems to be we can somehow keep the Communion together and preserve unity just by getting together in a meeting. It is just nonsense. The archbishop is tolerating something that the scriptures do not tolerate and by doing that he is himself in error.
"The time is for action. He needs to uphold biblical teaching in his own backyard. As long as we go along in this muddled mess, we will just continue this decline in the Church of England."
Mr Richard Kirker, general secretary of the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, said the meeting would be meaningless if gay Christians were not invited.
"None of the existing primates are themselves gay. There may be closet homosexuals, but they are not to be relied upon. We would expect gay Christians to be at the table, otherwise it is a meeting to discuss 'them out there'.
"We are throwing down the challenge; we expect to be invited. Otherwise it will be another talking shop."