As the bishop at the centre of an international Anglican storm because he consented to same-sex blessings in 2002, Ingham said Tuesday the decentralized structure of the Canadian church allows dioceses to proceed on their own with rites blessing homosexual relationships.

After hearing two hours of debate in which many Anglicans pleaded for more time to study the issue of homosexuality, Ingham said delegates to the church’s General Synod are at the same anxious point Vancouverarea Anglicans were seven years ago, when they first narrowly passed a vote to affirm same-sex unions. At that time, Ingham withheld his consent.

“I don’t know which way this vote is going to go,” Ingham said in an interview.

“But I know people need time to think the issue through without feeling intimidation. Whatever happens will not affect the right of the Diocese of New Westminster to bless same-sex unions.

“This vote here is about ‘affirming’ a diocese’s right to perform a same-sex blessing. It’s not about asking General Synod to create the right.”

But Algoma Bishop Ronald Ferris — a long-time opponent of same-sex blessings who on Monday lost out to more liberal Montreal Archbishop Andrew Hutchison in his bid to become the church’s national leader, or primate — countered that the church constitution forbids its 30 dioceses from independently conducting same-sex rites.

Ferris argued that the laws of the 700,000-member Anglican Church of Canada ban dioceses from allowing same-sex blessings because they amount to a change of the church's traditional doctrine, worship and discipline.

As a result, he said, blessings can only go ahead with the approval of a two-thirds majority of two successive General Synods (which meet every three years).

In addition, Ferris warned in an interview there will be “costs and consequences” if dioceses proceed on their own to bless homosexual relationships.

One price, Ferris said, will be that 40 million of the world’s 70 million Anglicans, through their bishops, will declare themselves in “impaired communion” with any diocese that allows same-sex blessings.

Many Anglican bishops in Africa and Asia have already broken ties with the Diocese of New Westminster and the Episcopal (Anglican) Church U.S.A., which last year consecrated an openly gay man as bishop.

Ferris said there will be “internal rifts” and “legal and financial problems regarding property,” as some disaffected parishes try to leave the denomination and take their buildings with them.

So far two Vancouver-area parishes that have left the denomination claim they own parish property.

Ingham said individual dioceses will be able to act independently on same-gender rites no matter what happens this week, because the Anglican Church has a “confederal structure” not unlike the Canadian government’s federal system, which permits diversified powers.

If today’s vote passes, Ingham said, “it will only confirm the divisions we already know exist. And I believe it's important to respect that diversity.”

Ingham predicted the vote will be decided by the many centrists among the more than 300 delegates.

About 30 delegates took part in Tuesday’s first synod opportunity to speak publicly about the samesex issue. The comments of about one-third of the speakers reflected a liberal perspective, with the rest calling for the same-sex vote to be either delayed or killed.

Steve Schuh, a Vancouver delegate who is also president of the city chapter of Integrity, a national organization for gay and lesbian Anglicans, was having trouble with the many delegates who said they hadn’t had enough time to consider the issue.

“We’ve had a whole generation to talk about this,” said Schuh.

“The Canadian church did its first study on homosexuality in 1976. And, at the Lambeth Conference in 1998, most of the world’s bishops encouraged Anglicans everywhere to engage in dialogue on homosexuality. Anybody who hasn’t yet talked about this has been avoiding the issue.”

Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle, who had earlier raised the ire of Vancouver-area Anglican officials when he offered to act as an external “flying bishop” to 10 disaffected conservative parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster, read a statement from 15 anonymous Anglican priests and laypersons who have tried to deal with their homosexual desires by either choosing to live celibate lives or by overcoming their sexual impulses and opting to live in heterosexual marriages.

Buckle said General Synod delegates weren’t taking seriously that many homosexuals can change their sexual orientation.

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