Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has called top leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion to a January meeting to discuss loosening ties between the Communion’s regional churches.

In recent years, the 80-million-member Communion has been wracked with tensions. Conservative Anglican churches in the global south have been upset with Western churches, especially the US Episcopal Church, over issues such as homosexuality. Welby wants to see if there is a way Anglican churches could hold different views without completely splitting the Communion.