The new document, entitled the St Andrew’s Draft, was drawn up at a meeting of the Covenant Design Group in London last week, which is chaired by the Archbishop of the West Indies, the Most Rev Drexel Gomez. The draft proposes that the Archbishop of Canterbury oversees a mediation process between provinces which disagree on contentious issues such as homosexuality.

The ongoing row over the issue has threatened a split in the worldwide Communion since the consecration of an openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson, in New Hampshire in America five years ago.

It suggests that if mediation cannot be satisfactorily reached by the mediation process the matter will be refered to the Anglican Consultative Council, a body of lay and clergy members, which would then have the power to expel a province whose policies might threaten a schism.

The proposal gives the Anglican Consultative Council more prominence in resolving disputes than the Primates, a move which has been opposed by some groups.

The Rev Dr Chris Sugden, executive secretary of Anglican Mainstream which is backing the alternative GAFCON meeting instead of the Lambeth Conference, criticised the new draft which he said reduced the power of the Primates. He said: “It appears to downgrade the role of the Primates’ Meeting in the Communion to a therapy group, and it doesn’t deal with the current difficulties we are facing.

“Its proposals merely describe the current process we have for dealing with disputes which so far hasn’t provided a satisfactory result.” He added that this view was shared by other members of the Anglican Communion in other provinces including America and Australia.

Meanwhile Jonathan Clatworthy, General Secretary of the Modern Churchpeople’s Union, said the plan would make the Church ‘more autocractic and outdated’ as it would centralise decision-making and would ‘magnify disputes’. He added: “It takes the Anglican out of Anglicanism and there wouldn’t be much left.

“Until now we have lived together respecting differences of opinion. This Covenant would mean every time there’s an objection someone will lay down the law.” However, the Rev Dr Graham Kings, theological secretary of the Fulcrum pressure group, welcomed the new draft.

He said: “I am very encouraged by the detailed work which has been put in and particularly the framework and procedures for resolving conflict. “The interesting thing is the shift from the Primates to the Anglican Consultative Council, that may well be appropriate.

“I’m hopeful the Covenant Design Group has produced major improvements that will have a fruitful results at the Lambeth Conference.” The draft will now be put forward for reflection.

among the Anglican Communion at large and the Lambeth Conference which meets in July at Canterbury.