Dissident Episcopalians Form Protest Network

Dissident Episcopalians upset over the consecration of a gay bishop formed an unprecedented national protest group -- a network of conservatives pledging to work with each other and oppose church leadership.

However, creation of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes in Plano stopped short of a schism with the Episcopal Church, raising the prospect of church-by-church fights for authority and control.

A church spokesman said the movement, which can claim to represent roughly a 10th of the denomination’s 2.3 million members, would be more worrisome if it had greater support.