Anglicans: To Go or Stay

While I was on the road promoting a book, believing Episcopalians were also on a journey. This is my roundabout way of apologizing for being extremely tardy in taking notice of something that may turn out to have historic ramifications. I refer, of course, to the Faith and a Hope gathering, of Episcopalians who actually believe the ancient teachings of Christianity, in Pittsburgh. (In other words, these are the Episcopalians who realize that one man has almost wrecked their church.)

One of the key questions, of course, is whether the Episcopal Church will remain intact. Midwest Conservative--which has good coverage of the Pittsburgh conference, witty comments included--posted these remarks by the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, the bishop who moderated the event:

"'We are going to do what we can to help [the leadership of the Episcopal Church] talk about the Windsor Report,[a document aimed at healing the rift in the Anglican Communion]' the Rt. Rev. Robert W. Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh and moderator of the network, told The Living Church after the closing Eucharist. 'We would love for them to commit to the Windsor Report, but we don’t think that is at all likely. The truth, then, is that we have no choice but to listen to what the Primate of Nigeria has said that you are going to have to make a choice.'

"Bishop Duncan was referring to comments made by the Most Rev. Peter Akinola during a 'Global South Primates Panel' presentation. In response to the written question, 'What would you like to see the bishops of the network do that they have not yet done?' Archbishop Akinola said in part, 'We have indicated this is your kairos moment to make up your mind of exactly what you want to do. Many of you have one leg in ECUSA and one leg in the network. With that, my friends, comes disaster. If you really want the Global South to partner with you, you must let us know exactly where you are. Are you ECUSA or are you network?'"

(There are reports that the Archbishop of Canterbury, the titular head of the Anglican communion, has recognized the network of conservative Episcopalians, but Loose Canon doesn't yet know what to make of this.)

There were several ordinations at the Pittsburgh event, including one deacon (Episcopalians and RC's have three degrees of holy orders: deacons, priests, and bishops) for the ultra-liberal diocese of Washington, D.C. This produced a blast by trendy Washington bip John Chane, followed by a counterblast from Chane's critics.

It's easy to see all this as a tempest inside an Anglican teapot. But it's more important than that. This is the communion that was once seen as the bridge between Catholicism and Protestantism. Will it find its way back to fidelity to the gospel? Will it splinter? Sometimes I think Episcopalians by and large (i.e., those who aren't sympathetic with those who went to Pittsburgh) have become too shallow to care much about orthodoxy (see Tommy Lipscomb's biting piece on what they are like now). As for me, I feel my love for something beautiful from my childhood is on its deathbed.