This fall, a special commission formed because of the controversy will release its report on keeping the Anglican Communion together despite deep theological division. Rowan Williams, the archbishop of Canterbury, rejected requests last fall to discipline the U.S. church but created the commission to address objections to Robinson's consecration.

Williams heads the denomination, a 68 million- member global alliance of churches, including the Episcopal Church USA.

Kolini will have plenty to say in that report. He has helped direct an international alliance against Robinson that could lead to the end of the Anglican Communion. He says at least 11 Anglican primates in Africa (a primate is one of 38 Anglican provincial leaders worldwide) will break off relations with the U.S. church if the commission does nothing.

"Their argument is that it's interpretation of the Bible," Kolini said of Episcopal leaders. "We think it's culture. It's not biblical. You can't impose your culture onto other people."

Robinson's defenders cite Anglican tradition of autonomy, but Kolini has numbers on his side --- the denomination is growing rapidly in Africa and Latin America but declining in the United States.

Kolini, who will speak at the Church of the Messiah in Canton on Sunday, is in the United States for a meeting of the Episcopal World Mission. While in Atlanta, he answered questions about the crisis.

Q: Episcopal leaders say they're not trying to impose their culture on other Anglican provinces because other provinces like Rwanda can set their own policy on gay or lesbian bishops.

A: Yes, but there are some essentials you can't go around. To be Christian, there are some fundamentals, some basics to our faith. The question is "is homosexuality a sin or not?" If the Scripture calls it a sin, then it's a sin.

Q: How can you cite Scripture to exclude a group of people when people citing Scriptures have used them to justify the enslavement and murder of your ancestors?

A: We don't exclude people. I have friends who are gay and lesbians. And they have asked me, why do you hate us? And I said, "If I hate you, I can't claim to be a Christian. I don't agree with you." That's where I stand.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands of homosexuals in the churches: priests, bishops. We kept quiet. We asked each province to deal with the problem . . . The word of God is powerful enough to transform us. I wasn't born into a Christian family. I was born in an African, traditional religion family until I went to school, and one day the Lord transformed my life. We feel like the word can transform our habits, our way of living.

Q: What effect has Robinson's consecration had on your province in Rwanda?

A: It's become a debate in the bars and in the villages between believers and nonbelievers. We have looked ridiculous. Some of our people have said we can't belong to that kind of church. It took time to explain what we mean by communion and the autonomy of each province. Some of our members are leaving the church.

Q: What actions do you want Archbishop Williams to take against the Episcopal Church?

A: His role is to investigate the thinking of many people and what should the primates come up with to help the Episcopal Church. There are two alternatives. It's up to them to pick one, not two. Since 1998, we have called the Episcopal Church to repentance. If they don't, we said there will be broken communion.

Q: What happens if the commission formed by Williams recommends no action against the U.S. church? What will you do?

A: When we met in Nairobi as the African primates, we made it clear that we will declare broken communion. I stand by that. We have spent so much time in church politics, but our mission is to reach out to those who don't know Christ. We'll probably need time apart like Paul and Barnabas did when they were arguing because of Mark. Let them go their way and we go our own way.

Q: Why is the church growing so rapidly in places like Rwanda and not in the United States?

A: Human beings look for God when they're in trouble. When people are well-off, they may think they don't need God. They have all they need. Materialism has become kind of an idolatry.

What has amazed me is in Rwanda people should be angry because [the Christian church] was directly involved [in genocide]. So they should be saying that the God of Christians is not a good God. Genocide took place. It's not the case. When I go to prepare for the service between 6 and 7 in the morning, thousands, young and old, are walking to Mass. I ask myself, why are all these people going to Mass, knowing that people were killed in these church buildings? Naturally, they know that their only safe refuge is God. It doesn't matter if the priests handed them over. They're not there for the priests. They're there for God.

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