Theological conservatives upset by liberal views of U.S. Episcopalians and Canadian Anglicans formed a rival North American province today, in a long-developing rift over the Bible that erupted when Episcopalians consecrated the first openly gay bishop.
The announcement represents a new challenge to the already splintering, 77-million-member world Anglican fellowship and the authority of its spiritual leader, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.
The new North American Anglican province includes four breakaway Episcopal dioceses, many individual parishes in the U.S. and Canada, and splinter groups that left the Anglican family years, or in one case, more than a century ago.
AP may have picked this up, but it was generated by Duke Helfand–for the LA Times. I’d love to see this fisked by Get Religion–especially the zinger–set out by hyphens–that TEC’s discernment on gay unions was prayerful. He also makes the last line speak for the bishops of CA who opposed Prop.8. Quite a propaganda piece!
Data points like this sure are not going to favor the statements of the PB that all is well and only a few are disgruntled:
“The 700 renegade churches, mostly from the U.S., had already expressed their displeasure by placing themselves under the jurisdiction of Anglican leaders in vast, self-governing foreign provinces.”
That and highlighting the true ECUSA/TEC/GCC/EO-PAC by noting the actions of the Californication Episcopal Bishops coterie in contradistinction to the biblical reality has got to get under the radar since it seems to support the “you will believe THIS” party line of the “empowered” and dwindling.