When it comes to same-sex unions, the Episcopal Church has been using a kind of "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

The church's General Convention has never authorized an official rite to bless homosexual relationships. Bishops have, however, been allowed to approve blessings at the local level or simply look the other way.

The national church didn't ask and local bishops didn't have to tell.

The big question is whether this tactic will work after the latest meeting of the world's Anglican primates, which ended early this week in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. In a blunt communique, they said there "remains a lack of clarity about the stance of The Episcopal Church, especially its position on the authorization of Rites of Blessing for persons living in same-sex unions. There appears to us to be an inconsistency between the position of General Convention and local pastoral provision."

Thus, the primates urged the U.S. House of Bishops to make an "unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorize any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions" at the diocese or national levels. They requested a similar freeze on the consecration of anyone "living in a same-sex union" as a bishop. The primates set a Sept. 30 deadline for these actions.

The Episcopal Church's official caucus for gays, lesbians and bisexuals has accused the primates of embracing bigotry. The Integrity network told its members and allies to "directly contact their bishops" and urge them to reject these demands.

"Jesus weeps, and so do I," said Father Michael Hopkins, former president of Integrity. "If the House of Bishops ... capitulates to these demands and sacrifices gay and lesbian people to the idol of the Instruments of Unity, it will have become the purveyor of an 'anti-Gospel' that will (and should) repel many."

However, the spokesman for the Diocese of Washington, D.C., said he is convinced that the Episcopal status quo might be able to survive after all.

The key is that the primates specifically asked U.S. bishops not to authorize any "Rite of Blessing" for same-sex unions, argued Jim Naughton, a former Washington Post reporter who serves as spokesman for the Diocese of Washington, D.C. The word "authorize" and the capital letters in the phrase "Rite of Blessing" imply an official rite.

"I think we are being given some room here, as there is a difference between authorizing and allowing," said Naughton, writing at the Daily Episcopalian blog. "We are being asked not to approve texts. Very, very few dioceses have approved texts. Our diocese doesn't. ... In a nutshell, you don't need an authorized rite to bless a union. Priests have been blessing unions without authorized rites for three decades. So we can continue that practice."

While the document isn't perfect, a key conservative is convinced it will be hard for Episcopal leaders to escape its conclusions.

The primates managed to reach "an agreement and they made specific calls and gave specific deadlines with real consequences. That looks like the possibility of an Anglican Communion with discipline could emerge," said Father Kendall Harmon, the conservative editor of the Anglican Digest. The result would be a "genuinely catholic church that acts catholic and has not simply faith but order - globally."

Nevertheless, the long-range health of the troubled communion will almost certainly hinge on whether its members embrace a proposed "Anglican Covenant" that will try to define core beliefs and doctrines. The primates released an early draft at the end of their meetings.

In a passage that is sure to draw debate, the covenant asks each church in the communion to commit itself to "uphold and act in continuity and consistency with the catholic and apostolic faith, order and tradition" as well as affirming "biblically derived moral values."

The document concludes by stating the obvious.

"We acknowledge that in the most extreme circumstances, where member churches choose not to fulfill the substance of the covenant ... we will consider that such churches will have relinquished for themselves the force and meaning of the covenant's purpose, and a process of restoration and renewal will be required to re-establish their covenant relationship with other member churches."

At some point Anglicans on the left and right will have to reach some kind of doctrinal agreement about what the Bible and centuries of church tradition teach about sex, salvation and other thorny subjects - or go their separate ways.

Terry Mattingly is director of the Washington Journalism Center at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and leads the GetReligion.org project to study religion and the news.