George Conger has reported, without citing to specific sources, that a private letter was delivered to the Presiding Heretic at the April 17 consecration of Dr. Ian Douglas as Bishop of Connecticut, in which +Rowan Williams has asked the Presiding Heretic, Katherine Jefferts-Schori, to consider stepping down from active participation in the activities of the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion.
Although media spokespersons for both Canterbury and TEO will neither confirm nor deny the existence of such a letter, many in the blogosphere who are skilled in reading the Anglican tea leaves believe this letter, or something substantially to its effect, to be real. For example, several have noted a more defensive and peevish tone in the Presiding Heretic's statements and writings over the last two months, which could certainly be attributable to being asked to not participate in this important body of the Communion. One could speculate that Canterbury's May 28 public Pentecost letter may have, in part, resulted from TEO's lack of response, or refusal to back away from Communion activities.
Taking this speculation in its most positive light, some have suggested that this may be part of a deft campaign to get TEO to choose to walk away from the Communion, rather then being kicked out. This also has some merit; it would not be unlike liberals/revisionists to stamp away, take their ecclesiastical ball, and go "home." We have seen that dynamic in many contexts. Given his past bumbling, it is hard for me to credit +Williams with such a strategy, but I can easily see where he would go the long way 'round to avoid going down in Anglican history as the Archbishop who kicked out the U.S. and Canada. Of course, an orthodox alternative awaits him in ACNA.
Several years of watching the decline of the Episcopal Church and the failure/refusal of the Anglican Communion to come to grips with TEO's revisionism have caused me to be miserly in meting out any optimism that the existing schism within Anglicanism will finally be recognized and accepted. There is little question that TEO and Canada have gone the way of secular Unitarianism; they remain Anglican in label only. Honesty in that regard would be truly refreshing.
Will there be anything interesting in this regard to come from the upcoming Executive Council meeting? I think this will depend on whether the Presiding Heretic wants it to be so, and whether any sub rosa communications have even been revealed to Council members. We will nevertheless keep our ears to the ground, and our fingers crossed for something positive for Anglican orthodoxy.
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