This is the latest development in a tumultuous time for Lexington's Episcopal Diocese, which in the past 13 months has seen members of two congregations leave the church and a separate case in which a priest was tried and defrocked for embezzlement.

Although a fellow bishop said Sauls is correct in ordering the clergy members to stop ministering, the leader of a conservative Anglican organization said the Lexington bishop is trying to "stamp out" opposition.

(b) supports the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates in taking all steps necessary to seek to achieve reconciliation by persuading all within the Anglican Communion to comply with the mind of the Communion as expressed by the Instruments of Unity, in the light of the recommendations of the Windsor report; and

Bishops in Africa and Asia spearheaded the opposition, and African churches threatened to end all links with Western colleagues, including financial ones.

During the past week, 15 Anglican archbishops from Africa, Asia and Latin America meeting in Nairobi said a recent apology offered by the denomination in the U.S. did not go far enough to heal the rift.

"The tension is getting strong," said the Rev. Doug McCurry, who resigned Jan. 23 as rector of Christ the Redeemer. McCurry started a new congregation, Legacy Church, that plans to affiliate with the Anglican Mission in America and operate under an Anglican bishop of Rwanda, Africa.