Leaders of the 85-million strong Anglican Communion have voted to suspend the Episcopal Church for three years, following its decision to allow priests to perform same-sex marriages.

Many believed the meeting held at England's Canterbury Cathedral would result in a schism or walkout, but two-thirds of the Communion's 38 primates, or bishops, voted to censure the Episcopals.

"The traditional doctrine of the church in view of the teaching of Scripture, upholds marriage as between a man and a woman in faithful, lifelong union," the ruling reads in part.

"The majority of those gathered reaffirm this teaching."

Acknowledging marriage equality "impair[s] our communion and create[s] a deeper mistrust between us," it continued. "This results in significant distance between us and places huge strains on the functioning of the Instruments of Communion and the ways in which we express our historic and ongoing relationships."

The Episcopal Church, which has some 1.8 million members, is barred from taking part in doctrinal decisions or represent the faith at ecumenical or interfaith gatherings.

In a tweet, Church of England spokesperson Rev. Arun Arora said the primates were "acting within the love grace of Jesus."

"[It's] not about sanctions but consequences in context of unanimous commitment to walk together," he wrote.

Many of the calls for action against the Episcopal Church came from primates in Asia, South America and Africa. Yesterday, Ugandan archbishop Stanley Ntgali walked out of the gathering after the Communion ignored his proposal for the U.S. and Canadian churches to withdraw "until they repented their decisions that have torn the fabric of the Anglican Communion at its deepest level."

The Anglican Church Of Canada—which does not recognize marriage equality but offers "a blessing of permanent and faithful commitments between persons of the same sex"—was not censured.

Ironically, the Church of England was aligned with Roman Catholicism until King Henry VIII wanted to redefine marriage to allow for his divorce. Guess they can dish it out but they can't take it?

h/t: Christianity Today