Anglican Mainstream

This comes as the five Gafcon primates, Archbishops Akinola, Venables, Nzimbi, Kolini and Orombi, fly into London this afternoon and prepare to travel to Canterbury tomorrow, Friday, to meet Dr Williams to discuss the new province among other things.

The meeting has been arranged at the request of the five primates. Next month, I understand, the Gafcon primates will then meet with the primates  of the Joint Standing Committee, Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori of TEC  and Archbishops Morgan of Wales, Aspinall of Australia, Orombi of Uganda, Anis of Egypt and Dr Williams. At this meeting they will present the plan formally to the primates for consideration at the Primates Meeting which begins in Alexandria, Egypt the following day. But it is not at all clear whether this presentation will incorporate a formal request for recognition or not.

Apparently, the big question that is being asked inside the power structures of the Anglican Communion is: ‘Do they want recognition?’ Is there a desire to maintain unity or not? This is not at all clear, and so far the guidance from both sides on this is a bit fuzzy.

All I could establish for certain, from an Anglican Communion Office spokesman, was this: ‘There has been no approach from the Common Cause Partnership about their proposal.’

So maybe the dismissal is not that brutal after all. Because there is clearly an interest in being approached.

I assume it is this approach that is to be discussed at the Old Palace at Canterbury tomorrow, and that will be formally made to the Primates on 31 January next year.

But the fact is that no-one really knows what to do or how to respond.

On the one hand, as Bishop Gregory Venables just told me, from one of those awful anonymous hotels at Heathrow where he is meeting up with the others as they check in, ‘It would be unthinkable if those who believe in original Anglicanism found there was no place for them in the new Anglicanism.’

And on the other hand, as TEC’s Jim Naughton says from his home in the US where he is on a day off: ‘There are small anti-gay Christian denominations all over the US and we have existed in the midst of these denominations for ages. At this point, this is just another of those small anti-gay Christian denominations.’

Naugton continues: ‘They are distinguished from other small anti-gay churches in the us by their global pretensions, but the relationships they have cultivated with a handful of likeminded leaders in Africa don’t really change the dynamic here in the US.’  Reporters have allowed these guys to say we at TEC are not Christians. There has to be some deep evidence that The Episcopal Church is not orthodox in its Christian beliefs for that to be justified. I do not think that evidence exists. They are trying to fly under the banner of theological orthodoxy. Really, they are just anti-gay.’

The Episcopal Church has 2.2 million members.

Common Cause has 100,000. Some of these, however, as became apparent at Gafcon, are not episcopalians but are drawn from the many traditional and continuing Anglican churches that still operate in the US.

So it seems, either Common Cause will seek recognition and possibly be granted it, thus fulfilling the gospel imperative of unity by drawing back into the fold all the other traditional Anglicans who have left over the years over issues such as women priests and bishops.

Or Common Cause will join the continuing churches out there as yet one more Anglican denomination in the increasingly fragmented landscape of North American episcopalianism.