A.S. Haley: Ah, the Anglican Communion—Again

July 8th, 2013

Finally surfacing again after a long spell of litigation, I came across two blog posts that deserve juxtaposition. Both have to do with the perceived future, such as it is, of the amorphous entity known as "the Anglican Communion." Since I am an Anglican Curmudgeon, it seems fitting to weigh in.

The first post, by the Rev. Canon Mark Harris, follows a theme he has sounded on several earlier occasions. Entitled "GAFCON II: will it spell the end of the Anglican Communion?", it treats the question it poses as purely rhetorical. All churches who remain in communion with the See of Canterbury will remain in the Anglican Communion, Canon Harris says, and neither ECUSA nor the Anglican Church of Canada have any plans to withdraw from that communion. And if the members of GAFCON do so, well -- too bad, but it won't mean the end of "the Anglican Communion."

Contrast to this the second post, by the Rev. Dale Matson, entitled "GAFCON II: a Way Forward for Anglicanism." In contrast to Canon Harris, Fr. Matson views the picture from the standpoint of one who is in ACNA. He sees the group that will be gathering at GAFCON II this next October in Kenya as the true future of the Anglican Communion. While the Archbishop of Canterbury is trimming his Church's sails so as to remain abreast of Britain's popular culture, the Archbishop of Kenya (who heads up GAFCON's Primate Council, and who is hosting the conference) is sailing against the popular winds, and holding fast to traditional Anglican teachings on marriage, priests and homosexuality... the rest