Read Ruth Gledhill's blog about the conference

More than 600 bishops from around the world have registered for the 2008 Lambeth Conference, the ten-yearly gathering of Anglican bishops from around the world.

The number represents 70 per cent of the total. More have also pledged to attend.

But about a quarter have still not said whether they will turn up or not, giving rise to fears of a boycott. Some of these are expected to attend instead a “rival” conference, organised by conservatives a few weeks before in Israel.

In spite of the threats of schism within the Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams said there remained a “very strong loyalty to each other and a desire to stay together” within the Anglican communion.

Speaking at a press conference at Lambeth Palace in London to launch the three-week July conference at Canterbury, Kent he said there were three main areas to be explored.

These will be the internal life of the Communion centred on talks about the new Anglican Covenant, interfaith relations, international development and environment issues.

A parallel conference for bishops’ spouses is being organised by Dr Williams’ wife Jane, a theologian in her own right.

She said some may think of it as “basically jam and Jerusalem, more tea vicar, or mitre-making and flower arranging”.

She said: “There will certainly be food and singing in our programme but there will also be a chance to meet some of the most interesting, committed and dynamic people in the Anglican Communion.”

She said the two main aims of the spouses’ conference were to learn from each other and to “resource ourselves to be God’s people for God’s mission” .