THE Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, gave his personal backing to a new, ultra-conservative organisation for orthodox Anglicans that is poised to become a recognised arm of the Anglican Communion in America.

The Times has learned that Dr Williams, in a private meeting with leading American clergy at Lambeth Palace, advised the setting up of a “network” to provide a home within the American church for those who disagreed with the decision to consecrate the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire.

Dr Williams went so far as to suggest the new network be called the “confessing” network. This was taken by those at the meeting as a reference to the the “Confessing Christian” movement that stood for the orthodox faith in Germany at a time when the official Christian bodies were being manipulated by the Nazis.

Although Lambeth Palace denied that any such direct link was intended, a spokesman for the Archbishop admitted that the term “confessing church” had been invoked as one way for the conservative evangelicals and Anglican Catholics to describe themselves.

The meeting took place at Lambeth Palace in July last year between Dr Williams and David Anderson, of the American Anglican Council, and Martyn Minns, Rector of Truro Episcopal Church in Fairfax, Virginia, the parish where Lord Carey, former Archbishop of Canterbury, confirmed 318 people last week with the approval of the diocesan bishop Peter Lee, who supported the election of Bishop Robinson.

As a result of the meeting at Lambeth Palace, the Anglican Communion Network was formally established in January. Since then, more than 1,000 clergy and 800 parishes have affiliated to the network, headed by the Right Rev Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh.

Bishop Duncan said: “The Anglican Communion Network exists to provide a united voice for orthodox Anglicans in North America as well as a connection to the vast majority of the global Anglican Communion who have rejected last summer’s unity-destroying actions of our Episcopal Church. It’s wonderful to see so many faithful episcopalians and other members of our Anglican family standing up to be counted.”

Significantly, of the 22 provinces, mainly in Asia and Africa, which have declared themselves out of communion or in “impaired” communion with the Episcopal Church of America over the gay issue, 15 have formally recognised the network as their Anglican partner in the US.

Some churches, such as Uganda, are already treating the network as equal to the other 38 provinces of the Anglican Communion, and accorded Bishop Duncan primatial status at the enthronement of the new Archbishop of Uganda, the Most Rev Henry Orombi. It is to Archbishop Orombi that Dr Williams has granted permission to consecrate the Rev Sandy Millar, retired rector of Holy Trinity Brompton in Knightsbridge, London, to be consecrated a bishop of Uganda and to work as Bishop in Mission in the London diocese.

Archbishop Orombi issued a statement yesterday describing how dioceses throughout Uganda were refusing or returning $70,000 (£39,000) in grant money to the American church (Ecusa). He said: “We have taken the position that, as a result of broken communion, we will not take any financial gifts from Ecusa.”

Orthodox Anglicans believe that if the unity of the Anglican Communion is to be preserved, the Lambeth Commission, set up by Dr Williams to negotiate the crisis, must “go beyond words” and recommend sanctions that express “distance from the actions of and fellowship with” the American church when its report is published next month.

Such sanctions could include actions against the 62 bishops who consecrated Bishop Robinson. Either way, the network is expected to emerge as the main focus of unity in the orthodox episcopal church.

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