The Archbishop of Canterbury is leading a summit of more than 50 Church of England bishops to discuss the homosexuality crisis in the church.
Crisis talks are being held at Lambeth Palace
Dr Rowan Williams will jointly chair the meeting being held behind closed doors at Lambeth Palace in London with Dr David Hope, the Archbishop of York,
All 44 diocesan bishops and 10 suffragans - who are bishop appointees - were asked to attend the meeting to discuss the way forward, Lambeth Palace confirmed.
They will discuss October's Windsor Report, a document produced by the commission set up to examine the crisis.
It called for the authorisation of same-sex blessing ceremonies and the consecration of gay bishops to be halted and provinces which had breached the "bonds of communion" to make statements of regret.
The report also suggested a covenant to be agreed by all 38 provinces to prevent any further developments in the crisis.
A Lambeth Palace spokesman said: "The meeting has been scheduled for some time and it was foreseen that meetings of this kind would be needed right round the world as provinces come to terms with what the report was saying."
No statement on the outcome of the private meeting would be made, he added.
The row erupted after the diocese of New Westminster in Canada allowed same-sex blessings and the Episcopal Church of the US backed the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man in a relationship, as Bishop of New Hampshire.
The debate hit the UK last year with the nomination of Dr Jeffrey John, a gay, but celibate, clergyman, as Bishop of Reading.
The decision sparked huge controversy and led to Dr John withdrawing his acceptance of the post and becoming the Dean of St Albans instead.
African Anglicans, traditionally strong conservatives, have threatened to leave the Communion if action is not taken against the US and Canadian dioceses.
There are 70 million members of the Anglican Communion around the world.