Despite the warning, Episcopalians overwhelmingly voted to lift a de facto ban on consecrating other gay bishops and approved a broad local option for bishops who wish to allow gay and lesbian couples to receive nuptial blessings from the church.<\/p>\n
Episcopal leaders later sought to cut off criticism with a letter to Williams that described the measures as simply “descriptive” of a church ministering to a culture with rapidly changing understandings of homosexuality.<\/p>\n
Williams responded Monday with a nuanced, five-page reflection that gently chided Episcopalians for overturning centuries of Christian understanding of marriage and homosexuality without wider consensus from other Anglicans.<\/p>\n
“The doctrine that `what affects the communion of all should be decided by all’ is a venerable principle,” Williams said.<\/p>\n