It is both incomprehensible and a tragedy. Just when the Church of England should be doing everything possible to woo new, young congregations it seems hell-bent on self-destruction.

As a result of the Canon Jeffrey John affair, the Anglican Communion is revealing itself as a seriously-divided institution.

Dr John's decision to resign, under intolerable pressure from the Archbishop of Canterbury, can bring no pleasure.

The schism the Archbishop was so anxious to avoid is already there.

One of the most openly aggressive churchmen threatening a split in the Anglican Communion if the ordination of Dr John went ahead was the Nigerian Archbishop, the Most Reverend Peter Akinola.

This is the man who raised no objections when Archbishop Desmond Tutu consecrated an openly homosexual bishop in South Africa a decade ago.

This is the man who has written for the Church Times, comparing homosexuality with bestiality. This is the man who has yet to condemn the planned stoning to death of an adulteress in Nigeria next month.

This is the leader of the Anglican Church in Nigeria who looks the other way at the mention of polygamy and wife beating and is curiously reticent about condemning the rampant promiscuity at the heart of the Aids epidemic in Africa.

What an example of piety, constancy and Christian tolerance.

It is no better here in Britain. The conservative evangelicals who applied so much pressure on Dr Rowan Williams by threatening to bankrupt and divide the church if Canon John's inauguration went ahead were frightening in their malevolence.

These are the hypocrites who accept homosexuality in priests as long as it is locked away in the closet.

These are the bigots who insist it is unacceptable for a homosexual priest, however talented, to be promoted beyond the level of Canon.

What a wonderful example of Christian love and spiritual generosity.

A fine, intelligent priest, a holy man has been crucified for the sake of unity.

Dr Williams, in his wisdom, has set aside fairness and morality to appease those who threatened the unity of the church, even its financial stability.

Their tactics were ruthless. The Queen, we are told, was alarmed. We are not told how the Prime Minister reacted.

This is, after all, the Established Church whose leaders need the endorsement of the Prime Minister.

But while Dr Williams may have achieved a very short term and limited objective of unity, the schism within the church is clear for all to see.

So are the nastiness, bigotry and absence of kind Christian charity in so many of those who fought against Canon John's elevation.

Is the shibboleth of unity worth all this? I suspect not. The concept of a 'broad Church' is a concept of compromise.

The only certainty is there will be neither new congregations nor a return of the disillusioned.