In his presidential address to the Church of England's General Synod Most Revd Justin Welby said the meeting of the world's Anglican leaders "occasioned much miscomment and even more misrepresentation."
In January Anglican primates imposed "consequences" on The Episcopal Church in America which had taken steps to allow gay marriage in its churches.
Archbishop Justin accused some elements of the media of misrepresenting the decision by calling it sanctions or a punishment.
He said reports in two broadsheet newspapers claiming primates had their phones taken away were not true.
"It became quite a joke with people [primates] waving their phones at me from time to time," he said to laughter.
"The vote was almost immediately spun outside the meeting as a severe sanction on The Episcopal Church; you will not find the word sanction or punishment at any point. The word used is consequence."
Sexuality had threatened to split the Anglican Communion and the meeting was widely said to have been a 'make or break' discussion.
Most Revd Justin Welby said he thought "all was lost" at one point but added that he was "conscious that literally millions, or tens of millions" of people were praying.
He said: "One of the moments in which we voted - and you don't vote often at these meetings, according to those who've been to several of them - was on the question, when all seemed lost, as to whether we would walk together or separately. And it did seem lost.
"The vote to walk together, after a warning - repeated twice - that to undertake to do so meant to take a personal responsibility for it happening properly, was unanimous. It was done by open voting of raised hands, and was total.
"However, the divisions were profound, and remain so. We should not have any illusions of the fragility of the process, or of the outcome."
He said he had never been more aware of prayer or pressure.
"I did not expect them to reach an agreement but thanks to their own dedication and commitment they managed to reach an agreement," he said.
The primates washed each other's feet and prayed before the meeting began.
"Many of us were moved to tears," he added.
He said there was a "great sense of common vision, of love for one another and of service to the world".
He said: "Life will not be perfect, or even anything remotely approaching it. That kind of over-realised eschatology is a nonsense.
"There are no quick fixes, magic wands or perfect spells. There is no church order that ensures perfection, nor one in which human sin does not add to the problems of the whole.
"There is, in short, a way forward in which we look like the people of Christ."
Archbishop Justin's address was greeted with a long round of applause which Synod members said was a show of support for his work with the primates.