The head of the world's 70 million Anglicans voiced fears today of "irrevocable" fallout from a US decision to install an openly gay bishop.
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Canon Gene Robinson
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"Difficult days lie ahead for the Anglican Church after the decision of the Episcopal Church of the United States to confirm the election of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire," Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said in a statement.
"It is my hope that the church in America and the rest of the Anglican Communion will have the opportunity to consider this development before significant and irrevocable decisions are made in response," he added.
Archbishop Williams, the liberal, former Archbishop of Wales, is facing a crisis pitting conservatives against reformers that could split his flock less than a year into his tenure.
Conservative Anglicans are furious over the vote, and there have been threats to split in Africa and the United States.
Even before he took up his job in December, Archbishop Williams had provoked controversy with his open tolerance of gay clergy, same sex relations and promoting women as bishops.
He narrowly avoided a schism just weeks ago by persuading celibate gay priest Jeffrey John to withdraw from consideration as bishop of Reading - an appointment that would have prompted the Nigerian Anglican church to withdraw from the Communion.
"The General Convention's decision to approve the appointment of Gene Robinson will inevitably have a significant impact on the Anglican Communion throughout the world and it is too early to say what the result of that will be," he said in the statement issued in London.
He appealed against knee-jerk reactions last night's US vote.
"I have said before that we need as a church to be very careful about making decisions for our own part of the world which constrain the church elsewhere."
With the Church of England set to publish a discussion booklet on human sexuality later this year, Archbishop Williams said those upset at the gay issue should be heard.
There was support for the move to elect Canon Gene Robinson from the Lesbian and Gay Christian Movement, which said the Anglican Communion had "deepened and enriched its understanding of the gospel".
The group called upon the Anglican Communion to respect the American Church's decision.
Agencies