He added, "I can appreciate the intemperate remarks of a deacon would cause you and others some scandal. I would hope that you would not confuse what he said with church teaching and therefore not allow his personal opinions to undermine your Catholic faith."

That day the Metropolitan of Rupert’s Land, Ashdown acting on the resolution of the Provincial Synod of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert’s Land and with the concurrence of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, will officially proclaim the newest diocese in the Anglican Church.

The carefully crafted VOL email to Bishop Robinson said, "The word on the ground at General Convention, and now making the rounds on the Internet, is that you and Mark Andrew are apparently parting ways. I realize this is a delicate issue, but a valid one, due to your high visibility as a bishop in The Episcopal Church . . . So there, in all humility I ask, Bishop Robinson, are you and Mr. Andrew experiencing relational problems? Have you separated? And are you discussing divorce?

"This was an act of reconciliation, and Terry was a big influence in that relationship," said Ezgi Saribay, one of the three seminarians who asked Nashotah House Dean, Bishop Edward L. Salmon, and Board of Trustees President Bishop Daniel H. Martins of Springfield, Ill., to tender the invitation.

"Terry was a great conciliator," she said, "and he would have loved every second of this."