Last Chance for Rowan?

http://www.peter-ould.net/2007/11/09/last-chance-for-rowan/

[An Exercise in the Fundamentals of Orthodoxy] 10 Nov 2007--Events have been moving fast in the past week in the USA…

Last weekend the Convention of the Diocese of Pittsburgh met (the equivalent of our Diocesan Synods here in the Church of England) and passed a motion that began to remove the Diocese from being part of the Episcopal Church in the USA.

In response, KJS, (the US Primate) sent a letter to Bob Duncan, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, basically telling him that he and the Diocese weren’t allowed to leave TEC and that she would sue the pants of him and them if they tried (or words to that effect).

Archbishop Akinola, Primate of Nigeria, said that he, and most of Nigeria and huge chunks of Africa and beyond, may not come to Lambeth 2008 if TEC is not disciplined.

Yesterday, Bishop Iker of Fort Worth, received his letter from KJS saying “If you leave I will be very Christian and take you to court” (or words again to that effect).

The same day the Telegraph reported that Greg Venables, Primate of the Southern Cone, had offered Primatial oversight to US dioceses that want to leave TEC. He confirmed this in a phone call.

A whole series of English Bishops, clergy and lay members of Synod came out in support.

Wow

If I was Rowan Williams I would be worried. The orthodox in the USA are no longer saying that they’re going to take action. They now actually are. Primates of the Communion are now offering to take whole chunks of the American church under their wing, and in response 815 is fighting dirty. English Bishops are lining up (expect more in the next few days) to support Pittsburgh et al and it looks as though the Lambeth Conference is falling apart. If he doesn’t come down on the side of Bob Duncan, Iker and the rest, then he faces not just unrest abroad (with calls for a new Primates Meeting being so far ignored from Lambeth Palace) but the possibility of outright mutiny at home.