Lord Bishop of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, the Right Reverend Dr. Alfred Reid, says the Anglican Church of the West Indies is not supporting the move made by two congregations in the United States to split from the Espicopal Church.

In a statement to the press last night, the bishop said that while the West Indian province disagrees with the ordination of a gay priest, Gene Robinson, it also disagrees with the schism being pushed by the Archbishop of Nigeria, Peter Akinola.

"Archbishop Akinola knows full well that the leadership of the worldwide Anglican Communion has been at pains to seek to deal in a holistic and timely manner with the issues raised ever since Robinson's ordination," he said in the statement.

He added that the decision made by the Episcopal Church in the United States was not binding on the whole Communion and there-fore should not be confused with the mission of the Anglican Church in the West Indies.

"It should be emphasised that the Church in Jamaica in collegiality with others in the Province of the West Indies and the rest of the worldwide communion seeks to work for consensus not divisive-ness and to maintain the fellow-ship of the communion without compromising its integrity. It is in that spirit that ongoing discussions on the most contentious and often painful matter will be conducted," he said.

He said the Archbishop of the West Indies, Reverend Drexel Gomez, has been appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to chair a committee that will guide the whole Anglican Communion forward on such issues.