Not all his moves have been perfect. He has taken heat from both sides of the House of Bishops. In an imperfect world and in an even more imperfect Episcopal Church that many now believe is heretical, apostate and beyond redemption, the Rt. Rev. Duncan has taken the lead. With great vision he has launched out into hostile territory in an effort to offer a safe haven for orthodox Episcopalians set upon and besieged by revisionist bishops and lawyers who have one objective - to utterly destroy them and wipe them out of the pulpits of North American Episcopal churches.

He has fought valiantly against enormous odds. Bishop Duncan has been vilified by the liberal dominated US House of Bishops; has been sued in the civil courts by liberal elements in his own diocese; has been publicly defamed by V. Gene Robinson, the homoerotic Bishop of New Hampshire for his "failure" to conform to the new world sexual order of The Episcopal Church; and much more.

Bishop Duncan has stolidly faced the accusations of his vilifiers. With humility and grace, he has pressed on in the face of enormous adversity because he sees the issues cutting at the very heart of the "faith once delivered for all to the saints."

The bishop is, in turn, an evangelical with a high catholic churchmanship, a supporter of women's ordination (for which he has received flak from some Anglo-Catholics), and irenic in his ability to hold out olive branches to liberals in his own diocese. At the same time, he is building coalitions of orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans inside and outside The Episcopal Church to press the church forward in mission with a genuine ecumenicity.

He is hated and vilified by liberals, revisionists and pansexualists on the one hand. On the other hand he is held with utmost respect and affection by Global South leaders who see him as a Defender of the Faith, a man of high moral rectitude, who is staunch in character and unfailing in his determination to uphold the authority of Scripture and the received teachings of the church without compromise.

Archbishops like Peter Akinola of Nigeria are on record as saying that Bishop Duncan has become the Presiding Bishop for all orthodox Episcopalians in North America. He is probably right.

Few can fault Bishop Duncan's public and private stands, his proclamations to press forward with Kingdom goals and the spread of the gospel within the Anglican tradition. At the same time he is looking over his shoulder as liberals seek to vilify and depose him.

If the Diocese of Pittsburgh tries to withdraw this fall from The Episcopal Church, Bishop Duncan will most certainly be inhibited and if found guilty he will be deposed by the House of Bishops. His arch nemesis, Dr. Harold Lewis, the rector of Pittsburgh's Calvary Episcopal Church would love to see him dumped. No doubt Lewis will be at the front of the queue with lawsuits in hand. Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh (PEP) will not be far behind.

Speaking at the beginning of a recent diocesan retreat, Bishop Duncan told diocesan leaders "we're here together...to discuss our way forward in light of our failure to obtain Alternative Primatial Oversight."

Them's fightin' words. Those words will undoubtedly come back to bite him if and when the majority of his diocese decides to pull out of The Episcopal Church. Regardless of what option the diocese ultimately adopts, there is no path forward for the diocese that will not involve significant costs and pain. Staying with the Episcopal Church in the light of its rejection of mainstream Christianity will force leadership, individuals and congregations to consider cutting their ties to the diocese. Separating from the structures of the Episcopal Church will force others to reevaluate their relationship with the diocese. Regardless of the choice, the diocese and its parishes are likely to face financial challenges.

"We are facing something that we never thought we would face. We thought we would prevail. We thought that what we believed and what the majority of the Communion believed would be provided for," said Bishop Duncan.

One criticism, with some foundation, is that Duncan has been naive in the face of evil. He has played along with The Episcopal Church hoping against hope that he could change its direction and swing it back to orthodoxy. On that score he has been wrong.

Those who would gloat must remember that the Affirmation of St. Louis in 1977, which saw four priests leave ECUSA to form new Anglo-Catholic jurisdictions across the country, hardly have much to shout about. Over the last 30 years they have splintered and fractured, unable to forge a coalition against the monolithic giant that is still The Episcopal Church. With Common Cause, Duncan is trying to reverse that.

Now the handwriting is on the wall. The finger of fate has written "Ichabod" over The Episcopal Church. The glory which departed from Israel for its apostasies has departed from The Episcopal Church with its heresies rising like a stench to the very nostrils of God.

"We have reached a point where, one way or another, there will be a parting of ways. I pray that all of us, regardless of where we stand, will treat each other with grace and charity as we plan for our futures," said Bishop Duncan.

At an upcoming meeting of the Anglican Communion Network in Ft. Worth/Dallas, it is expected that some sort of announcement will be made about the formation of a new province. Even if that should not be the case, another stand will have been made that will show that orthodox Episcopalians and Anglicans stand diametrically opposed to the "mission" and agenda of the Episcopal Church.

In September, right after the Episcopal House of Bishops meet (where the Archbishop of Canterbury will make a cameo appearance), and before the Sept. 30 deadline set by the Primates in Tanzania in February for the TEC to repent, Duncan will bring together his Common Cause partners for a Bishop's Council in Pittsburgh.

What happens there, and what follows, is anyone's guess.

It has been said that no one has gone after Bishop Duncan because no one wants to make him a martyr; however, the Calvary Church lawsuits from within his diocese have already, in part, done that.

Bishop Duncan is not interested in being made a martyr. He will die for the gospel not for a cause, common or otherwise. The Episcopal Church and its heresies weigh heavily on his shoulders, say insiders who know him well. How he is standing up under the pressure one can only guess. He has his bad days, VOL is told.

For the moment, the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan stands at the cusp of Anglican history. Whichever way this godly bishop and his followers decide to go, he will be vilified for it. He has counted the cost, he knows the odds, and now we all await the judgment of history.

END