The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, raised hopes that he could hold the Anglican Communion together as the Lambeth Conference ended yesterday without schism or open rebellion.

In his presidential address that marked the end of the conference in Canterbury, he told Anglican bishops that the “pieces are on the board” to resolve the wrangling over homosexuality. He advocated the concept of a “global Church of interdependent communities” but conceded that there was much work to do before Anglican difficulties over gays were overcome.

Dr Williams is pursuing a plan that will depend on three moratoriums being observed by liberals and conservatives at opposite poles of the divided church. The Episcopal Church, which consecrated the openly-gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003, and the Anglican Church of Canada, where a diocese authorised same-sex blessings, must both guarantee to desist from any further such moves.

For Dr Williams’s strategy to work, conservative primates from Africa must also pledge a moratorium on consecrating cross-boundary bishops to minister to evangelical congregations in liberal dioceses.

Bishop Trevor Mwamba of Botswana, a favourite for the vacant post of Primate of Central Africa, said: “The conference has been excellent, I would even say it has been divinely inspired. There was a growing sense of oneness, a sense that we all have a lot in common. We have been transformed by the relationships we have formed.”

However, early indications from other provinces in Africa and Asia are that the illicit consecrations will continue. In addition, Bishop Gregory Venables, the Primate of the Southern Cone, who has taken an entire US diocese into his province, is expected to continue poaching conservative parishes and dioceses from the US.

Liberals in the US are determined to fight the moratorium on gay consecrations and same-sex blessings agreed by the Episcopal Church’s convention two years ago. The Rev Susan Russell, of the gay lobby group Integrity, said: “It is not going to change anything on the ground in California. We bless same-sex relationships and will continue to do so.”

In spite of continuing dissent, the Lambeth Conference was hailed a success by most bishops because the Archbishop managed to get to the end without a schism. According to a survey of bishops at the conference carried out for The Times, most supported his leadership.

Religious Intelligence surveyed 100 of the 670 bishops in Canterbury, and found more than 90 per cent of them felt that there was still value in the Communion, despite its difficulties.

Nearly 25 per cent believed that there would be value in being in a looser federation of churches instead, but the vast majority wanted to remain in the more structured communion.

The survey does not reflect the views of the 230 bishops and archbishops, mainly from Africa, who boycotted the conference. But of those present, the survey showed that 75 per cent believed Dr Williams was providing the leadership that is needed.

The conference, which cost more than £5 million, ended with a deficit approaching £2 million. An emergency meeting of the Church Commissioners and the Archbishops’ Council is planned in London in the next few days to address the shortfall.

The Bishop of Guildford, the Right Rev Christopher Hill, told The Times: “The majority of English bishops believe that it has been a good conference. There has been real listening and real hearing. There are no instant solutions to the big difficulties but there is a commitment to stay together and work on it.”

The Lord gaveth

500 pairs of holy socks bought by bishops during the conference

120 litres of Communion wine drunk during 25 hours of worship

3,610 pints of lager consumed

10 years between conferences

1,320 minutes spent in 16 “indaba” groups

50 copies of In the Eye of the Storm signed by Gene Robinson, the gay Bishop of New Hampshire, sold

2 copies of The Truce of God: Peacemaking in Troubled Times by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, sold

Source: Times database