(Bishop of Norwich Graham James makes a statement after the vote for women bishops failed during the Synod at Church House in London November 20, 2012. REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)
The Church of England has lifted a ban on gay male clergy who live with their partners from becoming bishops on condition they pledge to stay celibate, threatening to reignite an issue that splits the 80-million-strong globanglican community.
The issue of homosexuality has driven a rift between Western and African Anglicans since a Canadian diocese approved blessings for same-sex couples in 2002 and U.S. Anglicans in the Episcopal Church appointed an openly gay man as a bishop in 2003.
The Church of England, struggling to remain relevant in modern Britain despite falling numbers of believers, is already under pressure after voting narrowly last November to maintain a ban on women becoming bishops.
The church said the House of Bishops, one of its most senior bodies, had ended an 18-month moratorium on the appointment of gays in civil partnerships as bishops.
