Because the United States branch of the Anglican Church continues its pro-LGBT stance to support same-sex marriage within the church, disciplinary measures are being taken by leaders within the denomination.

“The Anglican Church has slapped sanctions on its liberal U.S. branch for supporting same-sex marriage,” The Christian Post (CP) reported. “[This] move averted a formal schism in the world’s third largest Christian denomination, but left deep divisions unresolved.”

Ongoing battle

For nearly a decade and a half – ever since Massachusetts became the first state in America to legalize same-sex marriage – the divide has widened in the denomination over the debate to embrace or reject the LGBT agenda within the church.

“The Anglican communion – which counts some 85 million members in 165 countries – has been in crisis since 2003 because of arguments over sexuality and gender between liberal churches in the West and their conservative counterparts, mostly in Africa,” CP’s Stoyan Zaimov informed.

Not approving of the progressive stance on sexuality being taken by churches in the West, denominational leaders to the south and east are not willing to cave in to the progressives.

“Conservative Anglican archbishops from Africa and Asia are plotting to create a new ‘missionary’ bishop to lead traditionalists in the UK – after warning that the Church of England is becoming too liberal on homosexuality,” the Daily Mail reported. “The rebel archbishops are set to give the green light to the controversial plan at a crucial meeting in Africa this week in defiance of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby.”

This bold move is meant to send the clear message that biblical teachings will not be undermined by homosexual activists within the church.

“Insiders said the move was the ‘nuclear option,’ as it would represent a highly provocative intervention into the Church of England by foreign archbishops and a direct challenge to the authority of Archbishop Welby, who is [the] nominal head of Anglicans worldwide,” the British daily’s religion correspondent Jonathan Petre explained. “The move represents a highly provocative challenge for Archbishop Welby, who softened his stance on homosexuality in February.”

To embrace or reject the Bible?

An Anglican leader in Africa has been quite vocal about his objection to churches in the West for discarding biblical teachings to promote homosexuality.

“The Archbishop of Nigeria, Nicholas Okoh, who chairs the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) group of conservative archbishops, said the ‘distressing’ letter had ‘downgraded the historic and biblical mind of the Church,’” Petre pointed out.

Despite much opposition to liberal theology infiltrating numerous branches of the Anglican Church, the LGBT agenda is still being pushed by Leftists in high positions who are pushing to adopt the new cultural and politically correct norms.

“Even more alarming for GAFCON leaders, however, is that the liberal Scottish Episcopal Church is expected to become the first Anglican body in the UK to approve full-scale gay marriage at its annual synod in June,” Petre added. “At least seven GAFCON archbishops – who represent a vast swathe of the world’s Anglicans – will be at the five-day meeting starting [early this week] in Lagos, together with UK clergy.”

At the meeting, leaders will discuss whether a traditional biblical worldview will be protected … or if a new brand of liberal theology that embraces moral relativism will be adopted.

“Although several options will be discussed, the most dramatic would involve African archbishops consecrating a new bishop who could then be ‘parachuted’ into the UK to minister to traditional parishes,” Petre noted.

Beginning of the division

Back in 2003 – when the split over embracing the LGBT lifestyle in the Anglican Church began – Archbishop Welby voiced his concern that the Church of England was not on board with the homosexual agenda.

“The Church of England holds very firmly, and continues to hold to the view, that marriage is a lifelong union of one man to one woman,” the Anglican leader told BBC in an interview more than a decade ago. “At the same time, at the heart of our understanding of what it is to be human, is the essential dignity of the human being. And so we have to be very clear about homophobia.”

The 105th Archbishop of Canterbury contended that embracing sinful homosexual behavior –  that is condemned in the Bible – is an act of love.

“It’s not a blind eye – it’s about loving people as they are and where they are,” Welby insisted after being asked by BCC if he would turn a blind eye to homosexuality in the church. “You’ll find that in every church … and you’ll find that because it imitates the character and the practice of Jesus himself.”

Welby did not go on to put his assertion into context and bring up the teaching of the Bible for Christians to love the sinner, but hate the sin.