From Religious Intelligence:<\/p>\n
Responding to the announcement, the Rev Dr Chris Sugden, Executive Secretary of the Anglican Mainstream group, criticised the Episcopal Church for rejecting the Primates\u2019 authority.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhen the authority of the Primates was introduced at the Lambeth Conference in 1998 to deal with the issues in Rwanda, everybody agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now something that was regarded as acceptable when dealing with Africans is not acceptable to the Americans. It sniffs of racism.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are saying the Primates are not representative of them, but the Primates do represent each of their provinces, yet the Americans are forcing their polity on others.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
Relations between the Episcopal Church and the rest of the Communion were further strained earlier this week when the Church of Kenya announced it is to consecrate the Rev Canon Bill Atwood as a missionary Bishop for the United States, following the Episcopal Church\u2019s rejection of the Pastoral Council.<\/p>\n