TRIAL BALLOON FROM ENGLAND

This week a trial balloon was floated out of England when both the TIMES and the TELEGRAPH newspapers announced, in separate stories, that plans for a formal split in the Anglican Church are being considered in an attempt to resolve differences over attitudes towards homosexuality.

A proposal to turn the Anglican Communion into an Anglican confederation is being considered by the Lambeth Commission, the international body of 18 members set up last year by Dr Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, wrote Gledhill of the Times.

Jonathan Petre of the TELEGRAPH clarified the issue saying that an all-powerful "star chamber", headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury will be created to avert the collapse of worldwide Anglicanism over homosexuality. A blueprint drawn up by advisers will grant significant new powers to Dr Rowan Williams though not sufficient to transform him into an Anglican "pope".

It would be a loose federation with new loyalties and allegiances across geographic lines.

Perhaps this is the moment of Acceptance or reality breaking through into the Sufi driven mind of Frank Griswold, that all is now lost and we have the ECUSA and the action of consecrating an avowed sodomite to the episcopacy to thank for the break up of the whole Anglican Communion.

Said one priest to Virtuosity, "maybe it should happen. I hope it does. At the end of the day we will know who is on the Lord's side, those driven and beholden to Scripture and the traditions and doctrines of the church. If and when it happens, Griswold and his 62 revisionist bishops will be isolated and we can all watch them whither and die on the pluriform vine."

He has a point.

How it will all play out is still anyone's guess, but clearly Irish Archbishop Robin Eames is not succeeding in using his immense charm to hold it all together and is perhaps realizing that the days of the Communion are numbered.

Clearly the noises out of Africa are less than irenic in tone and orthodox forces in the US Episcopal Church coming from the American Anglican Council and the Network (NACDP) is causing a few headaches, coupled with the steady stream of documents from groups like Plano and from individual dioceses about the state of ECUSA, is less than encouraging.

The next seven months will be crucial in the life of the entire Anglican Communion, and orthodox priests and bishops are ratcheting up the pain on ECUSA's liberal and revisionist leadership as never before. Today's lead story addresses this issue.

This writer has spoken in four major locations in the last ten days to several thousand Episcopalians concerned about the present state of ECUSA and many parishes are now working up strategies on what they will do and say to their bishops.

These are heady days. A lot is at stake.