There was a time when the Episcopal Church in the United States was known as ‘the Republican Party at prayer,’ but in the last 30 years it has evolved into the Rainbow Coalition of Christianity. There are hip-hop Masses, American Indian rituals to install a new presiding bishop and legions of gay and straight priests who don the rainbow stoles of gay liberation. Its pews are full of Roman Catholics and Christians from other traditions attracted by its aura of radical acceptance. Now the conservatives who numerically dominate the global Anglican Communion have handed their Episcopal branch in the United States an ultimatum that requires the church to reel in the rainbow if it wants to remain a part of the Communion. With a communiqué issued in Tanzania on Monday after a five-day meeting, the leaders of Anglican provinces around the world (known as primates) asked the United States branch to bar gay men and lesbians from becoming bishops, and to stop official blessings of same-sex unions. The communiqué even specified a deadline: Sept. 30. There is no certainty that Episcopal leaders will now comply. In interviews yesterday, some liberal and moderate leaders who constitute a […]