"And we reiterate what has been true of Anglicanism for centuries -- that there is room within the Episcopal Church for people with different views, and we regret that some have felt the need to depart from the diversity of our common life in Christ."
The Rev. Ian Douglas of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass., predicted the move would have limited effect. "I do not think Wednesday's event is as big a deal as the organizers think it is," Douglas said.
He added that "while claiming more conservative tradition on human sexuality and biblical interpretation, their approach is radical and contrary to church polity."
Four Episcopal dioceses -- in Pittsburgh; Fort Worth, Texas; Quincy, Ill.; and California's San Joaquin Valley -- are among the religious bodies spearheading the creation of the province.
The dioceses -- and individual parishes -- had already taken steps to distance themselves from the Episcopal Church in recent years. Some parishes, including in Southern California, declared that they had placed themselves under the jurisdiction of conservative bishops overseas.
Some dioceses announced that they had aligned themselves with the Argentina-based Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America. That alignment would no longer be necessary if the churches created their own province.
It was unclear whether the Anglican Communion or its leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, would agree to such a step.
The action comes almost a year after the Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno, voted to become the first diocese in the nation to secede from the Episcopal Church.
It also comes five years after the Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Although some of the conservative churches split with the Episcopal Church before Robinson was installed in 2003, most cite the event as the catalyst that drove conservatives away.
The new province, they think, will provide a necessary alternative.
"We support this constitution as it reflects the very qualities that all of us . . . have hoped for in the new Anglican province -- biblically grounded, Christ-centered, mission-driven, outwardly focused, committed to evangelism and discipleship, and proudly Anglican," said Bishop Martyn Minns of the group Convocation of Anglicans in North America and a key player in creating the province.
The differences go beyond the role of gays and lesbians in church life. San Joaquin, for instance, is one of just three of the church's 110 dioceses that do not ordain women.
On the issue of gay rights, the diocese's bishop has said he views homosexuality as contrary to the Bible's teachings.
Conversely, California's six leading Episcopal bishops this summer announced their opposition to Proposition 8, the measure banning gay marriage in the state.
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duke.helfand@latimes.com
Manya A. Brachear of the Chicago Tribune contributed to this report.
