CRACKS TURN INTO FISSURES AS ECUSA EDGES TOWARD COLLAPSE

The Episcopal Church’s current turmoil is not a new rupture—but the culmination of decades of unresolved theological drift. The 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson was not merely controversial; it crossed a theological Rubicon for many orthodox Anglicans.

Unlike earlier disputes over women’s ordination or liturgical revision, this moment united over 25 orthodox bishops in public, principled resistance. Gatherings in Plano and the formation of the Anglican Network in North America (NADCP) signaled a sea change: no longer appeasement, but mobilization.

At the March 2004 House of Bishops meeting in Camp Allen, Texas, tensions flared. Bishop Grew demanded accountability for the Akron service—even suggesting it was timed to “manipulate” the agenda. Griswold proposed a revised plan for “adequate episcopal oversight” of dissenting parishes, but conservatives rejected it, noting it preserved local bishops’ veto power and relied on liberal-dominated regional bodies.

Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, Network moderator, warned: “The present course is suicidal—or at least fratricidal.” Retired Bishop Maurice Benitez added: if no acceptable plan emerges, “these kinds of measures may no longer be necessary”—implying further extra-canonical interventions.

The deeper issue is not polity, but soteriology: What Gospel is being proclaimed? Many parishes report decades without clear preaching on sin, repentance, or Christ’s atoning death—especially as revisionist leaders increasingly frame the Cross as “violent” or “exclusionary,” echoing critiques of The Passion of the Christ.

To deny the objective reality of sin—including sexual sin—and replace it with therapeutic language of “inclusion” and “diversity” is, orthodox leaders argue, to abandon the faith once delivered. As Pascal’s Wager reminds us: if Scripture is true, the stakes are eternal.

Sixty-two bishops now press a vision incompatible with historic Christian orthodoxy. The orthodox response is no longer withdrawal—but faithful resistance.