After months of bitter infighting, the Episcopal Church consecrated Rev. Gene Robinson as bishop of the New Hampshire Diocese -- the first openly gay man to reach that level in the church hierarchy and in the Anglican community worldwide.

Nairobi, Kenya— Anglican church leaders from the southern hemisphere on Friday called on the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in the United States to repent for consecrating an openly gay man as a bishop. 

“By their actions they have repudiated the provisions of the scriptures,” Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola, the chairman of the Global South Anglican Primates meeting, told journalists in Nairobi after a four-day meeting of the primates, or heads of churches, in the Kenyan capital. 

The call follows the consecration in 2003 of openly gay V. Gene Robinson as bishop of the US state of New Hampshire, a move that triggered controversy throughout the more than 75-million strong Anglican Communion. 

US Episcopal bishops on 13 January said they understood the consecration had caused pain, hurt, and “contributed to the current strains in our Communion”.

But they refused to back down from the action that has threatened to split the worldwide Anglican grouping. 

“They are apologizing for hurting our feelings, but that’s not it,” said Archbishop Akinola in Nairobi on Friday.

A special Anglican Communion report, published in October 2003, had urged the US church to apologize to other believers within the Anglican Communion who they had offended by their actions. 

Anglican bishops from around the world are scheduled to discuss the report at a February meeting in Northern Ireland.