The majority of Anglican leaders demanded that the US Episcopal Church unequivocally bar official prayers for gay couples and the consecration of more gay bishops to undo the damage that North Americans have caused the Anglican family.

After a tense six-day meeting, the leaders said that past pledges by Episcopalians for a moratorium on gay unions and consecrations have been so ambiguous that they have failed to fully mend "broken relationships" in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. wing of world Anglicanism, must clarify its position by Sept. 30 or its relations with other Anglicans will remain "damaged at best." The debate erupted in 2003 when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Let's get this straight, Gene Robinson (forget he's gay for one minute), is a BISHOP (meaning in charge of pastors), admits he has a relationship outside of marriage and it's OK?! Please, regular people can see through that problem and I am willing to make the jump that the Episcopal church will slowly die out like all the rest of the mainline denominations.

Anglican traditionalists believe gay relationships violate Scripture and they have demanded that the U.S. church adhere to that teaching or face discipline. Funny thing is, Episcopals (some not all) will use the same passages to support their case.

Supporters of ordaining gays believe biblical teachings on justice and inclusion should take precedence.

The convention rejected proposals for a churchwide liturgy for gay partners. However, a small number of US dioceses have moved toward developing local prayers and some dioceses have allowed priests to conduct the ceremonies privately.

The advocacy group Integrity, which represents Episcopal gays and lesbians, accused the leaders of bigotry, and urged Episcopalians to lobby their bishops to reject the demands.

Anglican leaders called on all sides in the conflict to end their lawsuits and recommended the creation of a pastoral council and a special vicar to oversee the minority of conservative U.S. dioceses and parishes that feel they cannot accept Jefferts Schori's leadership. Among the goals of the plan is to create an alternative so U.S. parishes stop affiliating with overseas Anglicans — a violation of communion tradition.