The spiritual Head of the Anglican Communion, Dr Rowan Williams has held a meeting yesterday with Bishop Gene Robinson, from the diocese of New Hampshire – part of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America (ECUSA).

|TOP|The meeting was described as “friendly but candid”, with the two involved in a discussion focusing on the range of problems that have arisen since Bishop Robinson’s consecration divided the Communion.

The meeting was part of Williams' commitment to "listen to the voices of all concerned in the current challenges facing the Anglican Communion", a spokesman said.

Dr Williams, the spiritual guide for the worldwide 77-million member Anglican Communion has been putting much of his efforts into halting the widening divisions in the Church brought about by the issue.

The latest twist in the Communion’s dilemma came after a five-day meeting in Egypt, where leaders made clear that they were commencing the formation of alternative structured in case a partial of full schism takes place.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, spiritual leader to the worldwide Communion, who has also been highly criticised over the past year for his lenient stance on the matter, had flown to the gathering at the end of last week seeking calm.

The Archbishop of Canterbury has told Anglican Church leaders from the Global South that the only ground for unity in the Church “'is to be found in Christ”.

On the Windsor Report, he said that it was too early to come to a judgement as to whether or not the reactions of the ECUSA and the Anglican Church of Canada satisfied the terms of the report.

Dr Williams reported, “I don't think we could say that they have satisfied in a simple and direct way what Windsor asked because that process is still continuing and will continue. Archbishop Eames gave an optimistic reading of this; I'm waiting to see.”

The Church of England head said that he was happy to recognise them as part of the Anglican Communion, “There is no doubt in my mind that these networks are full members of the Anglican Communion; that is to say that their bishops, their clergy and their people are involved with the Communion which I share with them, which we all share with them. Now formal ecclesial recognition of a network, as if it were a province, is not so simply in my hands or the hands of any individual. But I do want to say quite simply yes of course; these are part of our Anglican fellowship and I welcome that.”

However, Dr Williams’ comments seem to have done little to have calmed the tensions that have become so apparent and public in the Communion. Leaders are still demanding that the ECUSA reverse their decision to consecrate Gene Robinson as the first Anglican gay bishop at the General Convention which will take place in 2006.

In addition, the leaders have been unshaking in their demands that the Canada Church immediately drop its endorsement of same-sex blessings at the equivalent General Synod the following year.

In some of the strongest language they have used so far in the increasingly disharmonious dispute, the traditionalists said they saw no evidence of the North Americans showing "repentance."

The meeting between Dr Williams and Bishop Robinson ended in prayer.