The global Anglican Communion's leader faces enormous pressure to repudiate recent moves in North America toward greater acceptance of gay relationships as world Anglican leaders gathered yesterday to search for reconciliation.

　　Thirty-eight Anglican leaders - called primates - are meeting behind closed doors through today in Lambeth Palace, the historic London buildingswheresthe Anglican Communion was formed, after conservative leaders threatened to leave the communion over the issue of homosexuality.

　　The communion's spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, called the unprecedented meeting in August after a decision by the Episcopal Church, the US branch of the Anglicans, to ratify the election of its first openly gay bishop, which sparked the crisis.

　　But anglican leaders from both sides of the debate have been meeting in London all week to lobby for support.

　　The american Anglican Council, which represents US conservatives, contends the liberals are the ones who have departed from the communion by accepting non-celibate gays.

　　The council's leaders are in London and will petition the primates to "guide the realignment of Anglicanism in North America." They have not said what form that would take, but some council supporters have said they want Williams to expel the Episcopal Church and recognize conservatives as the true Anglicans.

　　The episcopalians in August also acknowledged that some of its bishops allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex unions. Separately, the Diocese of New West-minster in Vancouver, British Columbia, also voted to permit the ceremonies in its parishes.

　　Williams' options are limited. Unlike the Catholic Church, there is no centralized authority in Anglicanism. Each province is autonomous and Williams cannot settle issues of doctrine. The primates also have no collective legislative authority and cannot vote to punish a member.

　　But williams does have the right to decide whether a denomination can affiliate with the communion, and the primates can band together to influence him.