A new survey has revealed that more and fifty percent of American bishops have said that they do not support the consecration of homosexual bishop, Gene Robinson.

|TOP|The issue is one that has sparked controversy and division in the Anglican Communion over the past few years, and has brought the worldwide unity of the Communion to breaking point.

The survey of American Episcopal Church bishops also revealed that there was greatly mixed support for the blessing of same-sex unions.

Over the past week there have been a number of media reports stating that the American House of Bishops are set to back down and ‘repent’ for its actions when the General Convention comes together in June 2006.

However, the Episcopal Church is still unlikely to concede that it was wrong in principle, but instead it will simply state that extra caution should be exercised in the future in such situations.

The survey was conducted by the Lay Episcopalians for the Anglican Communion (LEAC), and surveyed 298 active as well as retired bishops in the Episcopal Church.

58 per cent of the bishops responding said they would not support gay blessings, and 56 per cent said they opposed the consecration of Bishop Robinson.

|AD|The results of the survey also showed that the bishops were divided 46 to 45 per cent, with the majority saying that they would be loyal to the Episcopal Church rather than the Anglican Communion if they became divided.

The survey has been questioned as to its usefulness as an indicator, however, since under 30 percent of bishops responded to the survey.

Last month, Episcopal Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold condemned the survey saying he was “suspicious of anything that is anonymous and that the questions themselves lead me to believe the intention of those who have asked him to circulate the questionnaire is far from benign,” according to the Church of England newspaper.

Lord Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, however, offered his support to the survey. Bishops Griswold responded, “I am sure he was well intentioned, I can only believe the questionnaire will be used to sow division among us at precisely the moment when the majority of you are seeking a common ground across a wide spectrum of theological perspectives.”

Jim Ince, who organised the survey, said he was “disappointed that the Presiding Bishop took a negative point of view.”

LEAC has stated that it hopes to help “passive, faithful Episcopalians (“the silent, middle 80 per cent”) know and understand the gravity of radical Episcopal bishops’ offences against Our Lord and his Scripture, and we will attempt to protect them from further non-Christian incursions by those and other revisionists.”