Charlie, as he is affectionately known, embodies the committed, self-effacing Evangelical Canadian personality, quietly pressing his case that if the Canadian Church has a future and does not return to its Biblical roots, and many now, like him, believe it does not, then The church is lost. As things now stand, he is not at all hopeful. Deep down he now believes it will never happen.

Charlie has served most of his ministry at St. George's. Evangelism is Charlie's passion. It is the thrust of a booklet he authored, "The Gospel Still Works."

He has worked hard to keep orthodox Anglicanism alive in his beloved Anglican Church. But he has been fighting a lonely rear guard action, as one Canadian Primate after another, more liberal than the preceding one has endorsed homosexuality, even as church figures indicate that the Anglican Church of Canada is in free fall.

"At a time of such confusion and even despair in the church, the thing that keeps me going is the fact that Jesus himself promised: I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it," he told VirtueOnline in Pittsburgh recently.

He was there to witness the beginning of something new - a North American Ecclesial structure that will, in time, morph into a new North American orthodox Anglican province hopefully recognized by the Archbishop of Canterbury which is by no means certain. He knows it will be recognized by a number of Primates and he is hopeful that it will become something more.

He flew down from Canada for the occasion, and stood soberly with other orthodox priests and bishops who came to witness a new day for orthodox Anglicanism in North America, that includes his country's dwindling orthodox Anglican community.

After the announcement, VOL caught up with Charlie Masters to get his reaction to the news of a new Anglican structure.

VOL: How do you see today's events?

MASTERS: It is very significant for the Network in Canada. We see ourselves as full members of the partnership and the formation of an ecclesiastical structure that was called forth at Kilgali, Rwanda in 2006. It is just as important for us Canadians as it is for Americans.

VOL: How big is the Network in Canada?

MASTERS: MASTERS: We have 16 parishes. About 500 have signed on as official members. We have significant numbers beyond that. Two bishops the Rt. Rev. Don Harvey, retired Bishop of the diocese of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador and now the Moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada, and the Rt. Rev. Malcolm Harding retired Bishop of Brandon , ambassador for Anglican Renewal Ministries in Canada and has just joined Network since General Synod - are both important to us. Bishop Harvey is definitely our leader and is here representing us all here in Pittsburgh. I should also mention that about a third of all Anglican bishops in Canada are orthodox but how they all might approach the coming days in the Anglican Church of Canada is not clear.

VOL: Why is this event important now for you and orthodox Anglicans in Canada?

MASTERS: It's the timing. We came to the conclusion after General Synod that further attempts to turn the Anglican Church of Canada around were now impossible. The fate of the church has been irrevocably sealed. It has no future. It will die a slow but inevitable death. One has only to look at the statistics of my own diocese to see that. The Titanic is going down. It will take a while, but its death is inevitable.

VOL: If there is to be a North American Anglican Province, what will be your role?

MASTERS: We hope to operate as part of the Network in Canada. We are in a no-win phase that the Anglican Church of Canada has walked apart and we are looking to the primates for options and jurisdictional care. Each individual parish will have to follow due process, but we believe it can be done with a minimum of litigation. The good news here is that the Network has solidly identified itself with global Anglicanism. We are part of the Network in Canada and we will automatically be part of this new structure and the future it has with whatever forms internationally.

VOL: What is the view of all this by your bishop and diocese?

MASTERS: They do not view what is happening here with any favor.

VOL: Have you ever been threatened with deposition or inhibition for belonging to an Anglican organization that opposes the status quo?

MASTERS: No, I haven't.

VOL: What most excites you?

MASTERS: We will be free to preach the Great Commission. I see exciting days ahead. Today we got to the central point of it all. What I saw happening here amidst this diverse group of Evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics is a high level of commitment to this working out. I am very excited now about the future. God has opened a door for the historic faith to once more be preached in the full power of the Holy Spirit.

VOL: Thank you