The Episcopal Church ended its nine-day triennial convention neither rupturing relations nor reconciling with the worldwide Anglican Communion, but fissures in the relationship between the two were more evident than ever.

Those are sure to deepen after the events of the past week -- including the nomination as bishop of a gay priest, the effort to split off three dioceses, including Pittsburgh, into a biblically conservative province, and a proposal for a two-tier system of churches.

Although the Episcopal Church makes up just 3 percent of the more than 70-million member Anglican Communion, its decisions on gay ordination and same-sex blessings have made it the focus of the wider church.

In the days since last month's convention ended on a shaky note after it elected its first female leader:

Three dioceses, including Pittsburgh, are seeking to create a new biblically conservative province within the Episcopal Church. In addition, they joined two other dioceses in asking the Archbishop of Canterbury to provide them "alternative primatial oversight," saying they cannot remain faithful to the newly elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.

The traditionally liberal Diocese of Newark nominated as bishop an openly gay priest, the Rev. Canon Michael Lee Barlowe, who has lived with his partner for 24 years.

An archbishop, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, suggested that a future "covenant" among members of the 38 national churches in the Anglican Communion could include a two-tier system of churches -- those that adhere to the wider church's shared beliefs, and those that don't.

The Church of Nigeria elected a Virginia priest to be a missionary bishop in North America, ministering to alienated Episcopalians.

Collectively, the actions are the clearest sign yet that the knotty theological question of the inclusion of gays continues moving farther from resolution.

The Rev. Susan Russell, president of Integrity, an organization for gay, lesbian and transgendered Episcopalians, said the most frustrating part is the church's neglect of its mission, members and the Gospel.

"We are very good at talking but we are not very good at listening," she said. "At what point is the Gospel served by us continuing to beat each other with our talking points?"

Discussions almost always include Pittsburgh, the nexus of the Episcopal Church's theological conservatives. Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. is moderator of the Anglican Communion Network, a 3-year-old group of 10 dioceses and 900 parishes formed after the church's confirmation of openly gay Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. It represents just 10 percent of the Episcopal Church's 2.2 million members, but is buoyed by biblically orthodox Anglicans in Africa and Asia, the most populous churches in the communion.

It was not surprising that some of the network's dioceses immediately sought alternative oversight since Bishop Jefferts Schori participated in Bishop Robinson's consecration and approved same-sex blessings in her home diocese of Nevada. Biblically orthodox Episcopalians believe homosexuality is incompatible with Scripture.

But the move to form a new province is unprecedented, according to the Rev. J. Robert Wright, historiographer of the Episcopal Church.

"There might be a group of leaders in the Episcopal Church who might seek formation of a new province," he said, "but not a diocese."

Bishop Duncan has said the province would enable conservative dioceses like Pittsburgh to join together, rather than remain dispersed among the church's nine present provinces.

The Rev. Dr. Robert W. Prichard, a professor of church history at Virginia Theological Seminary, said the Episcopal Church historically has relied on structural answers to deal with theological questions.

"Instead of figuring out how to reconcile competing theological claims, the church is trying to figure out how to adjust its structure to contain advocates of those differing views," he said.

The geographically grouped provinces' primary authority is to elect half of the church's 36-member Executive Council, which governs the church between its General Conventions.

However, the Rev. Dr. Harold Lewis, rector of Shadyside's Calvary Episcopal Church, sees something larger at work.

"This is all part of a master plan," said Rev. Lewis, who has called a Thursday news conference for diocesan clergy opposed to Bishop Duncan.

"This [new] province is going to be the so-called orthodox presence in the Episcopal Church," he said. "I think [Bishop Duncan] will try to make that new province, however small, the official Episcopal Church.

"The rest of us would be associate members."

It was a reference to the Archbishop of Canterbury's suggestion of a two-tier system in the communion, 38 autonomous national churches spread across six continents. As part of a covenant, "constituent" churches would limit their freedoms for the benefit of the wider church; "churches in association" could make independent decisions but would forfeit decision-making within the communion.

Developing such a covenant could take as long as nine years. But if the Rev. Barlowe is elected bishop of the Diocese of Newark, such debates may be moot.

The Diocese of Newark vote is scheduled for September. The Rev. Barlowe's election almost certainly would split the communion. He is one of four current candidates. Already, 22 of the 38 Anglican provinces have either "broken" or "impaired relations" with the Episcopal Church, stemming from Bishop Robinson's confirmation.

At their General Convention, Episcopalians agreed "to exercise restraint" by not electing candidates "whose manner of life presents a challenge to the wider church and will lead to further strains on communion." A special churchwide commission had requested a moratorium on any candidates living in same-gender unions.

One of the most vocal critics of the American church has been the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, archbishop of the 17-million-member Church of Nigeria. The church's election of the Rev. Martyn Minns, of the Diocese of Virginia, as a missionary bishop in the United States is sure to rankle many.

Rev. Minns will oversee about two dozen expatriate churches in the United States that were formed to provide an alternative to the Episcopal Church.

"We had deliberately held back from this action," the archbishop said in a statement. The actions at General Convention meant, however, that "far from turning back, [Episcopalians] are even more committed to pursuing their unbiblical revisionist agenda."

The last time missionary bishops were ordained was in 2000 when two, including the Rev. John H. Rodgers of Ambridge, were consecrated by the Anglican provinces of Rwanda and Southeast Asia. Such actions allow conservatives to oversee congregations that follow more traditional Christian doctrines but are located in liberal dioceses. Neither has been recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

"I think a certain amount of nuanced evaluation with appropriate historical and ecclesiastical context is what's called for now," said the Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, professor of mission and world Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass.

"Everyone's running off in different directions claiming authority."