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MINNEAPOLIS - Some of the most grave warnings to Episcopalians about their upcoming vote on the role of gays in their denomination have come from sister churches as far away as Nigeria and Malaysia.
The Episcopal General Convention, meeting this week in Minneapolis, will make decisions only for the American church. But conservatives overseas have said a progay vote would damage their ability to win members to the global Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is the U.S. branch.
Convention delegates are expected to decide by Monday whether to approve the first openly gay elected bishop - the Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Later in the week, they will consider authorizing a blessing ceremony for same-sex couples.
"In the Muslim world, dioceses are up against a propaganda machine from the other side saying, "How can you be Anglican when your bishops believe in same-sex relationships?"' said the Rev. Peter Moore, a conservative and dean of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Pennsylvania. "It exposes Christians in those countries to persecution."
Advocates for gay rights in the Episcopal Church contend the threat is exaggerated and that the Anglican Communion will thrive as it grows more accepting of homosexuals.
But Anglican leaders do not easily dismiss complaints from their counterparts in developing countries.
The bishops protesting the loudest represent more than a third of the 77-million communion members around the world, including parts of Africa and Asia where Anglicanism is expanding the fastest. These are also regions where Anglicans tend to be more conservative.
A leading opponent is Archbishop Peter Akinola, head of the Anglican Church of Nigeria, which serves 17.5-million people and ranks second in size to the mother Church of England among 38 Anglican branches. The Episcopal Church has 2.3-million members.
"There is a huge body count of people out there, especially in Third World countries, that is against this," said the Rev. Robert Wright, a professor of church history at General Theological Seminary, an Episcopal school in New York.
Money is also a factor in the debate. Impoverished overseas dioceses need funding from wealthy parishioners like those in the United States, but many fear American donors will force a "Western agenda" on them that includes condoning homosexuality.
Akinola forcefully expressed this view in a June 25 statement to Nigerian Anglicans on his opposition to Robinson and same-sex blessings.
"We are mindful of the backlash this strong stand can engender from the rich churches in Europe, America and Canada who have long used their wealth to intimidate the financially weak churches in Africa," he said. "Our boldness in condemning the spiritual bankruptcy of these churches must be matched by our refusal to receive financial help from them."
These overseas opponents and like-minded bishops in the United States have said that approving either Robinson or same-sex blessings would force them to consider separating from the U.S. church.
Robinson faces two more votes before he can be confirmed.
The next vote is expected today in a legislative body composed of clergy and lay people, called the House of Deputies. If they approve, Robinson then faces his final vote - in the House of Bishops - likely the following day. Any decision on same-sex blessings would come afterwards.