Illinois ? Conservative Anglican leaders unveiled on Wednesday the constitution and laws for a new organization intended to replace the Episcopal Church as the American arm of the Anglican Communion, which has 77 million members worldwide.

The move is the most telling sign yet that the debate over the role of gay and lesbian Christians has torn apart the first church to appoint an openly gay bishop.

Central to the new organization’s constitution is a declaration that the Bible is regarded as the “final authority and unchangeable standard.” The new organization says the Bible’s complex messages about issues such as the ordination of women call for conversation. But the group says the Bible gives a clear message that homosexuality is a sin.

Dubbed the Common Cause Partnership, the leaders represent 100,000 Anglicans who believe the 2003 consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson, an openly gay man in a long-term relationship, violated the authority of scripture.