Malawi's top Anglican leader said Monday he was considering severing ties between his 600,000-strong flock and the U.S. Episcopal Church if it does not reverse its confirmation of a gay bishop.

Archbishop Bernard Malango, who heads the church in Malawi, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, said his members refused to support "the odd and unnatural" decision by the American branch of the Anglican church to confirm Bishop-elect V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay cleric.

"We can't support Canon Robinson's election because it is not compatible with our tradition and faith, and if they insist on having him as bishop, we will cut ourselves away from the operation of the U.S. church," he told The Associated Press.

The American church set off a debate within the world Anglican Communion last week when it confirmed Robinson as bishop-elect of the Diocese of New Hampshire.

Anglican bishops in Africa, Asia and Latin America condemned the vote, with some threatening to sever ties with the U.S. church.

The South African branch of the church tends to be more liberal than others on the continent and its leadership said last week the sexual orientation of bishops does not matter as long as gay bishops remained celibate.

Robinson, a 56-year-old divorced father of two, has lived with his partner, Mark Andrew, for more than 13 years.

Malango said a crisis meeting of 12 African bishops is scheduled for Nairobi, Kenya, next month.

The African churches will lose vital funding from the U.S. church if they sever ties. Malango said a $100,000 U.S. grant for the Anglican Church in Rwanda already has been frozen.

"But we cannot sell the Lord for pieces of silver," he said.

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