Angry in the Great White North

In an escalation of the pressure being applied by conservatives in the Episcopal Church, an entire diocese has voted to secede from the Episcopal Church:

An Episcopal diocese in California overwhelmingly passed a series of resolutions yesterday that position it to secede from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with conservatives in the global Anglican Communion.

If the Diocese of San Joaquin affirms the move in a second vote next year, the small diocese, with 48 parishes and 7,000 members, would be the first to try to break from the Episcopal Church, which has been torn by conflict since the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003. Until now, only individual parishes have severed ties.

"This is the separation," said Craig Petz, a lay delegate to the diocese's convention in Fresno, Calif., where the vote took place. "It's done. There's no equivocating."

The language is escalating along with the actions:

"There is a schism, and it's a sin," said the Rev. Rick Matters, a co-founder of Remain Episcopal, the caucus favoring unity. "To secede, we are like one of the Southern states that led to the Civil War."

Legal questions concerning ownership and control of diocese property have not been settled, and are likely to move this theological battle into the secular courts.

The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts Schori, offered a "compromise" for those diocese that wish to have "alternate oversight":

Last week, before the vote, the church offered a compromise for "alternative primatial oversight" to the seven disaffected dioceses. After lengthy talks, a committee of bishops proposed that these dioceses could answer to a "primatial vicar," and not the presiding bishop, but that vicar would be appointed by and answerable to the presiding bishop.

These diocese want to be removed from the Episcopal Church, not to be quarantined within the Episcopal Church. Though Schori is not offering a way out, the Archbishop of Cantebury, Rowan Williams, has not ruled out the idea of alternative primatial oversight:

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, has said that he is "glad to see" that an Episcopal meeting in New York to consider the questions raised by requests for 'alternative primatial oversight' had produced imaginative proposals which represent, potentially, a very significant development.

Speaking on 1 December, the spiritual head of the 77-million member worldwide Anglican Communion, said: "I am glad to see these positive suggestions and shall be giving them careful consideration. I hope that they will mark a step forward in the long and difficult process of working out future relationships within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in a manner faithful to the gospel requirements of forbearance and generosity."

What is especially significant is that Williams remarks came only one day after Schori offered to appoint special bishops for these dissenting Episcoal diocese. The diocese asks to pull out of the Episcopal Church. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church says, "No". The next day, the Archbishop of Cantebury says, "We'll see."

Are battle lines being drawn for a fight over the relationship between Lambeth Palace and the American Episcopal Church? Can a diocese refuse to acknowledge the authority of the Presiding Bishop? Can the Archbishop of Cantebury exercise that authority? Can Schori protest, and if she does, who wins that fight?

The Catholic Church is a heirarchy -- a fight like this can be moved up a level in authority for resolution. But the Anglican Communion is a collection of co-equal churches. It's hard to imagine any Anglican Church accepting meddling in its internal affairs by another church.

Especially the American Church accepting meddling by a British authority.

But then serious theological questions are at stake. The Anglican Church is going to have to face deciding between respect for church autonomy and maintaining theological integrity, even at the risk of a fight.

I'm not sure whether the Anglican Church will choose to fight over a question of faith.