A conservative group of Anglican church leaders said on Friday that it no longer had confidence in the leader of the Church of England (CoE) over his stance on same-sex unions.
Earlier this year the CoE - where the Anglican tradition originated - set out proposals to allow priests to bless same-sex couples in church after a civil marriage, while still not allowing them to get married in church.
The global Anglican church, comprising some 85 million people across 165 countries, has been deeply divided for more than two decades over issues such as ordaining gay clergy members and same-sex unions. Homosexuality is taboo in Africa and illegal in more than 30 countries there.
