There is a deep split in the Canandian Anglican church over the status of gay priests and how homosexuality should be treated. This split is causing problems over the election of the next primate.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports:

The three nominees for primate, the top church official, are: Bishop Ronald Ferris, 58, of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, a leader of the hierarchy's conservative wing who denounced New Westminister's action for violating biblical morality. Archbishop Andrew Hutchison, 65, who advocates "full inclusion" of gays and lesbians in the church. He heads the Montreal Diocese and supervises a region spanning five Canadian provinces. Bishop Caleb Lawrence, 63, of remote Timmins, Ontario, who has said that if the same-sex blessing idea "is not of God, it will not stand," and if it's God's doing, then bishops cannot prevent it.

The results of the election will prove interesting — and important, because it will have a profound impact upon the ultimate direction taken by the Anglican Communion in the coming years.

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