Citing the potential damage his consecration might cause to the unity of the Anglican Communion, the Rev. Canon Jeffrey John ended weeks of increasingly polarized international debate about the appointment of the first openly gay bishop within the Church of England by petitioning Queen Elizabeth II to withdraw his nomination as Bishop Suffragan of Reading on July 6.

In responding to Canon John, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, said the situation had no obvious parallel. He said Christians who colluded in hateful comments or actions against homosexual persons were not living into their Christian calling.

In a joint statement released after the announcement by Canon John, the bishops of Pittsburgh and South Carolina said the Episcopal Church should prayerfully consider the theological consequences that might ensue if General Convention were to confirm a non-celibate homosexual person as a bishop before the Anglican Communion has come to consensus about changing its historical teaching on human sexuality and relationships.