One of the most vocal opponents of homosexuality in the Anglican Communion has announced he is to boycott a meeting of church leaders today in protest over the consecration of an openly gay bishop.
The Most Rev Peter Akinola, the Archbishop of Nigeria, said he will not attend the meeting in Canterbury because of the presence of key figures in the US church.
Archbishop Akinola said attending the meeting alongside the Most Rev Frank Griswold, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the US, would “undermine the Nigerian Church’s position”.
His announcement follows the consecration last November of Canon Gene Robinson, an openly gay man, as Bishop of New Hampshire in the US.
The annual meeting of the joint standing committee of the primates and the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) meets in Canterbury from today.