Anglican Church in America Update

I should disclaim at the beginning that the Anglican Church in America (ACA) situation is complex and colorful. So readers should feel free to add details and/or corrections (but not gossip) in the comments.

Having said that, it appears matters are winding down to a resolution. You will recall that the ACA was divided over whether to follow the rest of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC) and its Archbishop John Hepworth in joining the Church of Rome. Most ACA parishes wanted to stay Anglican, but some were firm in following ++Hepworth’s lead.

It appears that, though neither ++Hepworth nor the bishops of the ACA are particularly pleased about it, the ACA will indeed remain Anglican and not Roman, but that those parishes wishing to swim the Tiber with ++Hepworth will be allowed to do so without interference under a Patrimony of the Primate.

Further, the remaining ACA bishops are taking this episode as a nudge toward greater unity with other Continuing Anglicans: "We do regard this as an opportunity for all Continuing Anglicans to come together, said Marsh. "We are in talks with other Continuing Anglican bodies."

So, as messy as this has been, this may be leading toward greater Christian unity on both sides. Let us hope and pray so.

The ACA view on this matter may be found here. Archbishop Hepworth’s view may be found here.

A hat tip to the Good Professor for alerting me to these developments.