A proposed Anglican Communion covenant that might have been used to discipline churches which ordain gay bishops and priests has been rejected by the Maori Anglican church.
Members of Te Runanganui o te Pihopatanga of Aotearoa (the Maori Anglican Church) gathered at Te Papa-i-o-uru Marae, Ohinemutu, in Rotorua at the end of last week for a biennial meeting at which the covenant was discussed.
The covenant idea surfaced following the 1994 ordination of an openly gay bishop by the American Episcopal church.
That sparked the biggest convulsions the Anglican Communion has seen in recent years.
In the face of that uproar, The Archbishop of Canterbury set up a commission to look at ways that the Anglican Communion could stay together in the face of conflicts.