Worldwide Anglican church to split over gay bishop

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2245849,00.html

By Ruth Gledhill

The Archbishop of Canterbury has outlined plans to expel the Episcopal
Church of the US from the worldwide Anglican Church.

The US branch of Anglicanism is to be punished for consecrating the openly
gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, an act which has propelled
the worldwide church to the brink of schism.

Dr Williams is proposing a two-track Anglican Communion, with orthodox
churches being accorded full, "constituent" membership and the rebel, pro-
gay liberals being consigned to "associate" membership.

All provinces will be offered the chance to sign up to a "covenant" which
will set out the traditional, biblical standards on which all full members
of the Anglican church can agree.

But it is highly unlikely that churches such as The Episcopal Church in the
US, the Anglican churches in Canada and New Zealand and even the Scottish
Episcopal Church would be able to commit themselves fully to such a
document.

These churches and any others that refused to sign up could opt to cut ties
to Canterbury altogether, or could choose to remain in associate status.

In a letter to the 37 other Primates of the provinces of the Anglican
Communion, Dr Rowan Williams says that such churches would be comparable to
the Methodist Church in Britain.

Ironically, in 2003 the Methodist Church signed a covenant with the Church
of England at a service at Westminster Central Hall witnessed by the Queen,
Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

The fudged schism outlined in Dr Williams’ letter opens the door to the
possibility of Methodists moving slowly towards full unity with the
Anglicans, while Episcopalians fall by the wayside. Once Methodists start
ordaining bishops and Anglicans in England start ordaining women bishops,
there will be nothing to stop the two declaring full unity, unless the
Methodists also start consecrating gay bishops.

The proposals will be discussed soon at the next meeting of the standing
committee of the 38 Primates, and then at the Primates’ meeting in
February. They will come to the table of the worldwide church, along with
the wording of the proposed covenant, at the Lambeth Conference in 2008.

It is then that The Episcopal Church and others will face the choice of
signing up to biblical orthodoxy, or walking away from the Anglican
Communion table to the hinterland of "associate" status.

But as Anglicans find more common ground with Methodists, Lutherans,
Baptists and others, the next Archbishop of Canterbury could well decide to
resolve the problem of who to invite to the 2018 Lambeth Conference by
simply inviting the leaders of all churches in the Protestant world who
recognised each other’s sacraments. Or he (or she) might decide it is not
worth the fuss, and cancel the 2018 Lambeth Conference altogether.