There is no sign of it letting up even though Episcopal Church leaders have made it very clear that priests and parishioners who attempt to leave with their properties will face harsh legal retribution that in some cases will include lawsuits against clergy as well as vestries.

Here are the latest figures on fleeing parishes.

According to various parish profiles reported to the Synod of 1995 (the latest figures available in the 'Profile'), Niagara parishes claimed to have 38,000 total members but average Sunday attendance is less than a third of that figure - a mere 12,124. Factoring in further steady decline over the last seven years and the number of church closures, that figure is undoubtedly lower. The diocese claims that 98 churches have organized into 85 parishes.

We are fast approaching the point in the Anglican Communion where a crisis can no longer be averted by acceptance of covenants, reports (Windsor), communiques and high flying talk of diversity, inclusivity, reconciliation and healing. It has become apparent that a parting of the ways is inevitable. The test will be how Archbishop Rowan Williams proposes to handle it. Truthfully he is in a no win situation.

In an article titled "The Limits of Tolerance", Mr. Hamilton accuses remnant orthodox Episcopalians, such as the American Anglican Council, the Anglican Communion Network, Forward in Faith North America, and, most recently, the "Convocation of Anglicans in North America" (Archbishop of Nigeria Peter Akinola's extra-territorial "Nigerian" mission to the U.S.A.), of well-planned and organized attempts to bring about the replacement demise of the Episcopal Church as the U.S.