Windsor Bishops will haemorrhage membership: Bishop-elect David Anderson comments on the correspondence between Bishop John Howe and the Archbishop of

http://www.anglican-mainstream.net/index.php/2007/10/27/bishop-elect-david-anderson-comments-on-the-correspondence-between-bishop-john-howe-and-the-archbishop-of-canterbury/

[Anglican Mainstream] 29 Oct 2007--For years as a parish priest I heard the arguments over which is more important, or the basic unit of the church, the local parish or the diocese.

Is the basic unit the diocese with bishop and people or is it the local parish church? A parish church and priest can baptize, celebrate Holy Communion, marry, anoint the sick, hear confessions and grant absolution. The two things the local church and priest cannot do are confirm and ordain. A local church which is well managed might feel quite self-sufficient ecclesiastically until they need to have someone ordained. The American Episcopal Church went from the early 1600s until the late 1700s - not quite two hundred years - without Confirmation generally being available since Bishops were unwilling to venture to the American colonies. Priests had to be imported, or candidates sent to England for ordination.