LOS ANGELES, Dec. 5  -- The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church says members of the newly formed conservative body "are no longer Episcopalians."

In her first public comments since a coalition of 700 parishes announced formation of a new North American church in a dispute over gays, the Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori predicted that the exodus had largely run its course.

"They are no longer Episcopalians," she told the Los Angeles Times. "They have made that very clear in their departures."

Leaders of the new Anglican Church in North America split after taking issue with what they view as the Episcopal Church's liberal policies on the role of gays in the church.

The current crisis was precipitated by the 2003 ordination of a partnered gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire. (UPI)