In the last few days eight congregations in Washington State have left the formal power structure of the Episcopal Church in the United States in order to form the brand now Casacadia Diocese. This new diocese considers itself under the authority of the Anglican Church of the United States, a conservative counterpoint the more liberal Episcopalian Church they recently left behind. It should be noted that The Anglican Communion does not recognize The Anglican Church of the United States as a member, though advocates of the newly-minted conservative organization hope to change that status in the future.
Members of the recognized North American and Canadian Anglican communities are not the only ones to object to the current state of affairs within the Communion. Primate Peter Akinola, Primate of the Church of Nigeria, is a vocal supporter of conservative Anglican causes. He has openly backed Nigerian laws to criminalize homosexuality. Anglican Archbishop of Sydney Peter Jensen is well-known in Australian media as an outspoken promoter of conservative Protestantism, refers to the election of Gene Robinson as “the homosexual crisis.”
As it always seems to, this argument about acceptance of homosexuality comes back to Gene Robinson. He recently commented that, “I just wanted to be a good bishop, not the gay bishop, but at least for this period of time that seems to have fallen to me, and so now I am intent on being a good steward of that opportunity.”
As the division within the Anglican Communion continues to grow, the outcome is less and less certain. The inherent flexibility in the structure of the Anglican community may ultimately lead to its dissolution.
