COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A legislative body of Episcopal Church laity and clergy yesterday rejected a resolution that would have bound the denomination to "refrain" from nominating or selecting gay bishops and authorizing same-sex blessings.

But late last night, the convention's House of Bishops decided to meet jointly with the deputies this morning to try and hammer out some kind of legislation on the triennial gathering's last day.

A resolution expressing the Episcopal Church's intentions is considered important for its future relationship with the more than 70 million-member Anglican Communion, which hoped the American church would declare a moratorium on the election of openly gay bishops in the aftermath of the 2003 confirmation of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

Yesterday's action in the House of Deputies was seen by many as a slap at the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church is the communion's American arm.

"It really is the Boston Tea Party," Pittsburgh Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. said. "It sends a seismic message. That was a decisive moment in the life of the church and the life of the communion."

The House of Bishops discussed its own resolution on restricting the election of bishops "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church." During the 90-minute debate, Bishop Robinson spoke emotionally about being unable "to vote for any kind of resolution that by category excludes parts of our church," referring to gay and lesbian Episcopalians.

No vote was taken, and outgoing presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold III asked five bishops to work to develop a resolution to be offered at this morning's joint session.

Bishop Duncan held little hope that today's joint session would produce any workable result, saying it was "a creative proposal, but I don't think we'll achieve it."

The resolution rejected yesterday stemmed from a 2004 communion paper known as the Windsor Report that called on the Episcopal Church to find ways to remain in "the highest degree of communion possible" with the communion's national churches in 164 countries around the world.

A special commission of the Episcopal Church developed the resolutions that have been the major focus of the General Convention, since they are considered as a response to the Windsor Report.

The General Convention is the Episcopal Church's legislative body. Legislation must be passed by both houses of the bicameral convention.

Under a complex balloting system that tallies the votes of lay and clergy within each diocese's deputation, the deputies' resolution yesterday failed by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.

Church conservatives in the House of Deputies believed the resolution did not go far enough in meeting the Anglican Communion's concerns; liberals felt that the passage of legislation Monday expressing "regret" about the events surrounding Bishop Robinson's election was sufficient.

"I don't think it is that critical a situation," said the Rev. Dr. Harold Lewis, rector of Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside, an observer at the General Convention until yesterday. "I don't think people reasonably expected there to be a moratorium."

But with today the convention's last day, and much legislative action still to be considered, there is concern the gridlock will further erode the American church's standing in the wider communion.

"I would be very disappointed," said Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana, "because the Lambeth Commission [that developed the Windsor Report], and the archbishop of Canterbury, and the primates and the Anglican Consultative Council have all asked us to respond, and they are waiting for us to speak.

"If we don't speak, I think that would be a very serious breach of the bonds of affection" with the communion.

Already, at least nine of the communion's 38 provinces consider themselves in "broken" or "impaired communion" with the Episcopal Church. The historic election Sunday of Bishop Katharine Jefferts Shori, of Nevada, as the Episcopal Church's new presiding bishop, the first woman to take the denomination's top position in its more than 200-year history, already has ruffled the leader of at least one province.

"The election of the new presiding bishop has provided us with abundant clarity of the commitments and directions of [the] Episcopal Church," the Most Rev. Gregory James Venables, archbishop of the Southern Cone, said in a statement. His province includes dioceses in Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay.

The House of Deputies, however, did pass two resolutions late yesterday reaffirming the 2.3 million-member church's desire to be a part of the Anglican Communion. The overriding concern was that the new presiding bishop "have a seat at the table" when she meets other Anglican Communion leaders for the first time in February.