Supporters of gay clergy, meanwhile, accused the Episcopal bishops of caving in to pressure from conservatives, according to The Associated Press.
Furthermore, a number of media outlets, including the BBC, had viewed the Episcopal response as an agreement to halt the ordination of gay clergy.
"Bishop [Neil] Alexander [of Atlanta] said that he hoped for a 'clear and unambiguous' statement from the bishops. Well, judging by the initial media response, the statement released Tuesday night falls short of 'clear and unambiguous,'" noted respected theologian Dr. R. Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and one of America's pre-eminent evangelical leaders.
"Mark yesterday (Tuesday) as another date of disaster in New Orleans," he wrote in his weblog.
While Episcopal bishops said they "believe" their responses to the Anglican Communion "provide clarity and point toward next steps in an ongoing process of dialogue," breakaway Anglicans were looking for a more clear-cut statement on the U.S. church body's stance rather than the middle ground they chose to take.
"I would have preferred that they would pull back and say that 'we've gone too far' and say that 'we've got to get back in line with the rest of the church and the price of what we're looking for is too high,'" said Minns, who often calls the controversy the "American problem."
The other option would be to stand up for what they believe in, mainly a pro-gay stance, and be willing to pay the price for it, Minns added.
"I guess I was looking for clarity on either end of that," he said. "But what they've done is stay in the middle."
Although controversy in the communion heightened over homosexuality, the larger issue comes down to both the authority of Scripture and mutual submission within the community of faith, Minns explained.
