Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man elevated to that rank in any major Christian denomination, said today that the church will survive the tumult surrounding his election.

A senior African cleric today described the exclusion of gays as a “heresy” comparable with apartheid as a crisis summit of Anglican leaders over homosexuality got under way.

The clergyman seeking to become the first openly gay bishop in America’s Anglican Church was “surprised and dismayed” by eleventh-hour allegations questioning his reputation, a spokesman said today.