WASHINGTON - THE Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, announced Saturday its split from the liberal US Episcopal Church, chiefly in protest over the ordination of gay bishops and blessing of same-sex marriage.

The diocese, whose laity and clergy voted 240 to 102 for the split, will now join the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, the community said in a statement.

It said that some 210 clergy and 'a minority' of its 70 parishes had chosen to remain within the fold of the Episcopal Church, the US branch of the Anglican Church.

'We deeply value our shared heritage and years of friendship with those still within that denomination, but this diocese could not in good conscience continue down the road away from mainstream Christianity that the leadership of The Episcopal Church is so determined to follow,' the diocese's director of communications, Reverend Peter Frank, said in the statement.

The gay dispute has divided the Anglican church since 2003 when the Episcopal Church appointed its first openly gay bishop, Gene Robinson.

The church also stirred controversy when it appointed its first female bishop, Barbara Harris, in 1989.

The row continues despite the Episcopal Church's decision last year to halt the ordination of gay bishops and blessing same-sex unions.

The Pittsburgh diocese's decision to split was taken during its 143rd annual convention.

The diocese now joins the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, to which the statement expressed gratitude 'for offering us a clear way to stay within The Anglican Communion.'

Four other Episcopal dioceses in the United States are also moving to split with the Episcopal Church. The diocese statement said those of Fort Worth, Texas, and Quincy, Illinois, would make a final decision in November. -- AFP