The worldwide Anglican Church took a further step towards schism over homosexuality today with the ordination of two American Bishops to pastor to conservative US Anglicans under the jurisdiction of Kenya.

The Right Rev William Murdoch and the Right Rev Bill Atwood were consecrated at All Saints Cathedral in Nairobu by Kenya's Archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi.

The ordinations are valid but are expected to be counted as "irregular" by Lambeth Palace in London, placing the two outside the officially-recognised Anglican hierarchy. Nonetheless, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, will come under pressure from conservatives to invite the two new bishops to next year's Lambeth Conference.

In a significant indication of how the divisions transcend national church disputes, one leading evangelical English bishop today recognised and welcomed the ordinations. The Bishop of Rochester, Dr Michael Nazir-Ali, headed a list of more than 30 members of the Church of England's General Synod who sent a message to the two new bishops backing their episcopal ministry, even though acknowledging it is "out of the ordinary".

They said: "You will represent vibrant and growing Churches in Africa in their love and care for those in the United States who are suffering for their commitment to the faith once delivered to the saints, in the face of a determined capitulation by The Episcopal Church to the forces of contemporary North American culture.

"We see in your ministry a wonderful expression of the Gospel promise that there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, but all are one in Christ Jesus. For African Christians who live in economically poorer countries are taking considerable risks in their relations with powerful institutions in order to care for American Christians in economically privileged countries.

"We see here the universal church responding to the needs of local churches, and the local church responding to the need of the universal church, to find a way to preserve global orthodox Anglican witness and fellowship, that is not impaired by man-made intermediate structures.

"Your pathway is into the unknown. The way is strewn with pitfalls. Only Jesus will keep you in the way. Into his hands we commit you as you lead and teach his people in the American corner of his vineyard."

At the service, attended by ten primates from the Global South bloc of conservative African, Asian and Latin American churches, the two men pledged to serve the international interests of the Anglican Church of Kenya and of the congregations in North America that have rejected the care of their own, liberal bishiops and opted for Kenyan jurisdiction.

Archbishop Nzimbi said: “It is evident that the conflicts in the communion affect us all and we have a responsibility to address the areas that we are able to impact."

The conflict in the Anglican Church, a communion of 77 million souls with the Church of England's Archbishop of Canterbury as "primus inter pares", has been simmering under the surface during the past decades of revisitionist liberal theology but exploded into schismatic fury after The Episcopal Church in the US consecrated Gene Robinson, an openly gay pastor, as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.

The Archbishop of the West Indies, Dr Drexel Gomez, who is a leading Global South Anglo-Catholic Primate, said: “The gospel of our Lord is clear in its teaching and must take precedence over our culture. The issue is not primarily one of sexuality, but one which seeks to answer the following question: Which relationship corresponds to God’s ordering of life?”

John Richardson, spokesman for the conservative grouping Anglican Mainstream, said: "There is a widespread tendency in the Church of England to act as if what is happening in the rest of the Anglican Communion is a 'little local difficulty'. It is therefore very significant when even a small number of General Synod members from England send an open letter of support over something like the Nairobi consecrations.

"The signature of a diocesan bishop is a clear indication that things really are serious. Bishop Michael will probably take considerable private flak from his fellow bishops over this.

"The Church of England reminds me of John and Mary O'Leary in Father Ted - the couple who are always fighting, but are all smiles when Father Ted walks in. Publicly, we wear our 'all is well' face. Under the table, we are kicking one another's shins raw. The letter of support at least has the advantage of being public and honest — something which does not come easily to us."

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