The real cause of disunity in the Communion is the sort of thinking that leads to the belief that it's acceptable to
threaten the Archbishop, among other things, and who
behave like this when they're stuck in a room together. The way the Episcopal Church has been going about things certainly hasn't been ideal but it's certainly not the American churches that are in the main discord with the center, at least right now. That's only maybe a third true or so at best (for example, I agree with the Archbishop that, on political grounds at least, there are things to be said for continuing to ask or recommend, if not require, that gay bishops be celibate for the time being; regardless it was the will of the Church to consecrate Gene Robinson, he was duly ordained, and that should have been the end of it. I don't deny the Church of Nigeria's right to consecrate Peter Akinola even though I think he's a disgusting human being for reasons some of which have nothing to do with politics).
As for the idea that a rump Communion would be
more schismatic than the, uh, crypto-Pentecostals who wrecked it in the first place, I...I'm really not sure that would be the case, let's put it that way (see the article I linked above). The near-certainty, if there is one, is kind of sad, deflating decentralization at this point, and probably a majority or at least plurality of conservatives who have come to understand that they're not going to make the churches of the 'Global North' (plus most of Asia and Mexico, actually) undo the steps that have already been taken (I, incidentally, am yet unconvinced, even as an admitted hack for the Affirming Catholicism faction, that
further steps are warranted). Nobody wants it but it's better than one side,
either side, being 'triumphant' or engaging in a 'takeover'.
I like N.T. Wright, who understands that, while it might not be as nice to him and his as they might like, the ECUSA (and for that matter the Church in Canada and in the British Isles) has (have) been doing exactly what the majority (granted, not a consensus, at least not yet) of the relevant communicants, theologians, and bishops have been wanting to do for quite a while in accordance with the way changes in church policy have always worked--
through General Synods. Running roughshod over the ecclesiastical setup for ideological reasons is making it infinitely more difficult for the Communion to focus on the real problem, which is the creeping spiritual vacuity for which the idea that there has to be some sort of enforced unity on these kinds of political issues functions, whether the people who advocate it are trying to or not, as an effective stalking horse.
The groups are complementary. The Roman Catholics leaving the RCC are becoming, for the most part, liberal Anglo-Catholics. My point was that it's not exactly as if we're running out of Anglo-Catholics or something just yet.
Incidentally, if the ECUSA is dying that's not the ECUSA's fault, it's the broader society's. The Church doesn't fail mankind. Mankind fails the Church.
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