The Anglican Communion is holding its biennial meeting from the 14-19 February, in Tanzania.

The appointment of openly gay clergy, such as American priest Gene Robinson, is an issue that could dominate proceedings.

Feelings on this subject are so strong within the Church that there has been talk of a schism developing between the more liberal Western churches and the conservative Anglican churches of the developing world.

Find out facts about each of the major Anglican communities.

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England
Primate: Dr Rowan Williams
Number of Anglicans: 26m described themselves as Anglicans at the latest Census, however, the Church of England puts the number of regular churchgoers at 2.75m.
Total population: 49m
History: English Christianity emerged from the missionary work of St Augustine, sent from Rome in 597, and from the work of Celtic missionaries in the north. Separated from Rome in the 16th Century and became Protestant.
Stance on gay issue: The issue came to the fore in 2003 when a gay canon was elected Bishop of Reading. Before he could take up his post there was an outcry and he was persuaded to resign by Archbishop Rowan Williams. However, some senior clergy have voiced dismay at this.

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Australia
Primate: Dr Phillip Aspinall
Anglicans: 3.9m
Total population: 20m
History: Founded in 1788 with the arrival of the first emigrants from the UK.
Stance: No official stance on homosexuality however Dr Carnley has argued the issue is not worth splitting the church over.

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Canada
Primate:Andrew Hutchison
Anglicans: 800,000+
Total population: 32m
History: First church building was St. Paul's, Halifax, in 1750.
Stance: "Canadian gays and lesbians will continue to be welcomed and received in our churches and to have their contributions to our common life honoured," said Archbishop Peers. A new rite of blessing for same sex unions has been authorised by one diocese.
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Central Africa(Botswana, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe)
Primate: Bernard Malango
Anglicans: 600,000+
Total population: 36m
History: The first Anglican missionary to Malawi was Bishop Charles Mackenzie, who arrived with David Livingstone in 1861.
Stance: Archbishop Malango said the appointment of Gene Robinson "brought darkness, disappointment, sadness and grief" to his province.

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Kenya
Primate: Benjamin Nzimbi
Anglicans: 2.5m
Total population: 32m
History: Mombasa saw the arrival of Anglican missionaries in 1844. The first Africans were ordained to the priesthood in 1885.
Stance: Archbishop Nzimbi has consistently and strongly spoken against admitting homosexuals into the church.

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New Zealand
Primate/Archbishop & Co-Presiding Bishop: W Brown Turei
Anglicans: 584,800
Total population: 3.9m
History: The Anglican Church in New Zealand had its beginnings in 1814 when the Maori chief Ruatara agreed with the Reverend Samuel Marsden to give protection to three missionaries and their families at Oihi in the Bay of Islands.
Stance: No stated policy.

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Nigeria
Primate: Peter Akinola
Anglicans: 15m
Total population: 134m
History: The rebirth of Christianity began with the arrival of Christian freed slaves in Nigeria in the middle of the 19th Century.
Stance: The church remains vehemently opposed to homosexuality, regarding it as taboo and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Archbishop Akinola has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the election of Bishop Robinson.

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Southern Africa
(S Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Swaziland)
Primate: Winston Njongonkulu Ndungane
Anglicans: 2m
Total population: 65m
History: British Anglicans met for worship in Cape Town after 1806 and the first bishop was appointed in 1847.
Stance: Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane has criticised his African colleagues and said that the church's attention should be focussed on more pressing concerns such as Aids and poverty.

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Sudan
Primate: Joseph Marona
Anglicans: 5m
Total population: 38m
History: The Church Missionary Society began work in 1899 in Omdurman. Christianity spread rapidly among black Africans of the southern region.
Stance:Archbishop Marona says the Church should tackle the effects of war and poverty before homosexuality. "We have much worse things to face," he has said.

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Tanzania
Primate: Donald Mtetemela
Anglicans: 2m
Total population: 36m
History: The Universities Mission to Central Africa and the Church Missionary Society began work in 1864 and 1878 at Mpwapwa.
Stance: Archbishop Mtetemela has said homosexual practice is against the scripture.

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Uganda
Primate: Livingstone Mpalanyi-Nkoyoyo
Anglicans: 8m
Total population: 26m
History: After its founding in 1877 by the Church Missionary Society, the Church grew through the evangelisation of Africans by Africans.
Stance: The Ugandan church has severed ties with its US counterpart over the election of Gene Robinson.

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United States
Primate:Katharine Jefferts Schori
Anglicans: 2.4m
Total population: 290m
History: Anglicanism was brought to the New World by explorers and colonists with the first celebration of the Holy Eucharist in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607.
Stance: The first church to elect an openly gay bishop - but only after long and heated debate.

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West Africa
(Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Sierre Leone)
Primate: Justice Ofei Akrofi (Ghana)
Anglicans: 1m
Total population: 31m
History: The Church of the Province of West Africa divided to form the Province of Nigeria and the Province of West Africa in 1979.
Stance: The new archbishop, elected in September, has not spoken out on the issue. His predecessor also maintained a diplomatic silence.

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West Indies(including Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago)
Primate: Drexel Gomez
Anglicans: 777,000
Total population: 5.3m
History: The Anglican Church arrived in the West Indies with the original English settlers in the early part of the 17th Century, the clergy for the most part being state chaplains to the English officials and planters.
Stance: Archbishop Gomez has said the confirmation of Gene Robinson is incompatible with scripture.

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