If unity is strength, then the Church of England must be feeling a bit frail this week. The Anglican bishops of Uganda yesterday announced that they will not be attending this summer’s Lambeth Conference, a once-in-a-decade gathering of the Anglican Communion.

As if he did not already have enough to deal with, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, finds that the organisation he leads is refusing to fall into line behind him. There is intense disagreement, not only about the interpretation of scripture, but about the future of the church.