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Facts about the crisis in the Church
Since the election and consecration of V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire, as well as the approval of same-sex blessings, the Episcopal Church has been at the center of an international Anglican crisis.
That crisis, in the words of the gathered leaders of the world's Anglican churches, tears "the fabric of our Communion at its deepest level" (Primates Statement, October 16, 2003). 22 of the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces (national churches) have declared broken or impaired communion with the Episcopal Church.
The Windsor Report, which was commissioned in October of 2003, described the Episcopal Church as having "acted in ways incompatible with the Communion principle of interdependence." It went on to add "Our fellowship together has suffered immensely as a result of these developments." It also noted that without changes in behavior, it was possible that the Anglican Communion may break up.
The report specifically called the Episcopal Church to "express regret" for their decisions, and place moratoriums on both same-sex blessings and the election of bishops living in homosexual relationships. The 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal Church elected not to meet these requests. That decision has since been reaffirmed by the House of Bishops and The Episcopal Church's Executive Council.
In response to the decisions of 2003, American Episcopalians who want to remain in relationship with all of world Anglicanism and preserve the church's traditional teachings formed the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (generally known as The Anglican Communion Network or ACN).
Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan was elected moderator of the Network at their January organizational meeting. The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has also formally affiliated with the Network as are nine other dioceses and scores of individual parishes.
Episcopalians comfortable with the direction and decisions of the church have also organized, particularly in dioceses with a conservative majority. Their national umbrella organization is known as Via Media USA. The local organization in Pittsburgh is Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh.
Since an initial exodus in 2001, some 250 parishes or portions of parishes and thousands of individuals have left The Episcopal Church.
Many have come under the spiritual oversight of Anglicans from other parts of the world.
Resources for further information: The official website of the Anglican Communion Network is: www.acn-us.org
