Thursday, April 28, 2016

Anglican Civil War

There is a civil war between the Anglican Church in North America and The Episcopal Church (formerly the Protestant Episcopal Church in the U.S.A.) It is not the widespread war that figured in the departure of five dioceses and sixty parishes. Almost all the litigation has been settled, mostly in favor of remnant groups who were awarded the assets, property and funds, of the so-called "breakaway" congregations. A few skirmishes languish in the courts, as described by the Anglican Curmudgeon in his blog.
The war is now at the top level. The Archbishop of ACNA was recognized at the January meeting of Anglican primates as head of something. So was the Presiding Bishop of TEC, who is not actually equivalent to a primate in authority and responsibility. They represent the worst fear of the former Archbishop of Canterbury: Two rival Anglican churches in the U.S. While both the esteemed clergymen have made no mention of their rivals, it is obvious that one church is growing and the other is declining.
History of religious denominations in the the U.S. is full of splits over doctrine, liturgy, or practice, It is not a situation where "Dodge ain't big enough for both of us!" The same schism is evident in the Anglican Communion, in the metamorphosis of GAFCON to a communion de facto of traditional Anglicans. We support the leaders of ACNA and GAFCON, while mourning the fall from grace of our formerly beloved church . We accept that the battle for supremacy will probably last for generations.

Followers