Did he or didn't he? That is to say, did the Archbishop of Canterbury initiate the Camp Allen meeting or was he merely a passive bystander. It all depends on who you ask. Did the two U.K. bishops speak on his behalf or didn't they? In the letter of invitation Don Wimberly the Bishop of Texas said the ABC had been party to the discussions and that they came with his blessing, but not expressly on his orders.

Asked to explain the apparent contradiction the Rev. Jonathan Jennings, Archbishop Williams' press secretary, said both sides were correct. He told one magazine that the Archbishop of Canterbury was not involved in the organization of the Texas meeting and the Bishops of Durham and Winchester did not attend at his request.

What we do know, and what the ABC said, was that the meeting of the 21 bishops at Camp Allen and what Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold said were not contradictory and there was "no discrepancy" from both camps.

So where does this leave everyone; the status quo.

The eight dioceses who want Alternative Primatial Oversight still want it, perhaps even demanding it; the ABC is still striving for unity while the Global South say they are ready to set up an alternative structure following Kigali talks for America's orthodox, and the tension continues to grow.

The bottom line is that somewhere down the line the ABC is going to have to make up his mind what he is going to do; what side of the fence is he prepared to fall on. To heighten anxieties, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold is taking Mrs. Schori to London to officially introduce her to the ABC, with the clear signal that she is now the Primate of choice, chosen by the deep thinkers in The Episcopal Church, and she should (or will) be seated and numbered among the 38 Elect.

But is that a sure fire thing? If she shows up in February 2007 at the meeting Primates somewhere in Tanzania, (possibly Dar es Salaam) she may be introduced long enough to get thrown out, that at least is what one source told VOL.

In light of his own tenacious stands, will Archbishop Peter Akinola (Nigeria) and his fellow CAPA archbishops stand to be with her in the same room? That is the question. Some of the Primates have a problem with her being a woman, other Primates have problems with her being a woman AND her revisionist, pro-gay theology. She is a clone of Griswold after all. It'll be interesting to see if Dr. Williams can hold it together this time. The primates were at each other's throats in Dromantine, 'no Eucharist please, we're orthodox'. So what will the Primates do this time around, the tension is becoming unbearable?

A RECENT report from the Church of England that viewing God in masculine terms can validate "overbearing and ultimately violent patterns of behavior" in intimate relationships and "contributes to domestic abuse," has brought down a firestorm of criticism from VOL readers worldwide. Wrote one reader: "The Most Reverend Cantaur Rowan Williams is the apostle of a new revealed religion of polytheistic, polymorphous pluriform nonsense. The Articles of Religion I, II. God is Father. Jesus was made Man. Either deal with it, or go away. If you don't like the Anglican faith, go start your own. But DO NOT make a new religion and claim it is Anglican. Oppression and abuse are what Jesus came to end. You can read all about it in the New Testament."

The Daily Telegraph reported this week that the Church of England is backing the Law Commission's proposals to give unmarried couples similar legal rights as those who are married. Risking accusations that it was undermining marriage, the Church said that cohabiting couples with children should be granted significant legal protection if they split up. It also argued that those rights should be extended to unmarried couples without children if one of the ex-partners was at risk of suffering a substantial injustice when they separated. Bishop Tom Butler, who heads the Church's mission and public affairs council, said the General Synod had decided two years ago that there could be new legal rights for those in unmarried relationships. "We recognise that society has a duty to protect children, whatever family structures they find themselves in," he said.

Another story in The Telegraph by Jonathan Wynne-Jones, said the Church of England had launched an astonishing attack on the Government's drive to turn Britain into a multi-faith society. In a wide-ranging condemnation of policy, it says that the attempt to make minority "faith" communities more integrated has backfired, leaving society "more separated than ever before". The criticisms were made in a confidential Church document, leaked to The Sunday Telegraph that challenges the "widespread description" of Britain as a multi-faith society and even calls for the term "multi-faith" to be reconsidered. The biggest complaint was that the Church says 'privileged attention' was been given to the Islamic faith.

A BETTER INDICATOR of the state of the Church of England might be the crumbling interior and exterior walls of Canterbury Cathedral. It is being held together by duct tape, says a story out of England. You can read how you can support its rehabilitation in today's digest. The cathedral, the mother church of worldwide Anglicanism which was founded in 597 by St Augustine, was the scene of the murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 and has survived extensive bombing of the city during the Second World War.

THE LEAD international VOL story centers on the Diocese of Recife in Brazil. In an action that will likely force deeper divisions in the Anglican Communion, the Archbishop of Canterbury has received the new Primate of Brazil the Most Rev. Mauricio Andrade and the new Bishop "Diocese B" of the Diocese of Recife, the Rt. Rev. Sebastião Gameleira Soares. Eyebrows are being raised over the implications for the Southern Cone Primate, Greg Venables who has taken that diocese and its Bishop Robinson Cavilcanti under his ecclesiastical wing.

DOMESTICALLY, The Episcopal Church continues on its schizophrenic way.

In the DIOCESE OF COLORADO, verbal fights broke out at their Diocesan Convention recently with conservatives and liberals sparring over the church's progressive agenda. The exchanges got so heated they went from the floor of the convention to the hallways outside. A number of women priests screamed at Bishop Rob O'Neill yelling that he had betrayed them, and then the liberals attacked the Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner and other orthodox priests saying that if he and they didn't like the direction of the Episcopal Church they should go pound sand in some other ecclesiastical sandbox. O'Neill told a Colorado newspaper recently that "this diocese is not falling apart; we're more together than we've been in years." He's living in a fantasy world, said another priest. When liberal priests start accusing their liberal bosses of betraying their heterodox faith then you KNOW something smells rotten. They passed a budget with a $76,000 deficit.

They consecrated Dena Harrison Bishop Suffragan of the DIOCESE OF TEXAS this past week with the Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop challenging her to be a voice for unity and mission within the House of Bishops as she moved into a "new way of being ordained" with a more diverse and complex ministry. A lot of code words here. She is the first female bishop of Texas. In an interview with the Houston Chronicle she said she voted to give consent to the House of Bishops on Mrs. Schori's election. "While I don't agree with her on some of the issues - she voted for Gene Robinson and has supported same-sex unions in her diocese - she is a very bright and gifted person." Asked about Gene Robinson, she said she voted against his approval for his consecration. It lacked appropriate consultation, she said. "We sort of got the cart before the horse."

In the DIOCESE OF MASSACHUSETTS, another parish has fled to the Anglican Mission in America. All Saints Episcopal Church in Attleboro, a 500-member orthodox congregation voted through its rector and vestry to leave The Episcopal Church and affiliate with the AMIA. This is the second parish following St. Paul's, Brockton that has left the TEC for the AMIA with its rector the Rev. Dr. Jim Hiles. No word from Bishop Tom Shaw or the Diocesan Council how they will handle this. The rector, The Rev. Dr. Lance Guiffrida, 54, said he would like to keep the property, but he won't go to court to fight the diocese. "We'll walk away if we have too," he told VOL.

In the DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT a second parish, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in South Windsor, Connecticut, and Bishop Andrew D. Smith formalized a Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) arrangement for the parish. Bishop Clarence N. Coleridge, retired bishop of Connecticut will be the delegated bishop. Last fall, St. Paul's in Brookfield formalized a DEPO arrangement. Bishop Jeffery Rowthorn, retired bishop of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, and former bishop suffragan in Connecticut, now living in Salem, agreed to serve as its delegated bishop. (ENS)

FLOATING around the country, Dr. George Carey, former ABC was in the DIOCESE OF ALABAMA and gave an interview to a local newspaper. In answer to a question about divisions in the Anglican Communion, particularly those that have developed over issues of sexuality and the ordination of gays and lesbians, he had this to say. "I now think that the global south and a lot of conservative churches in this country and in other parts of the world are going to pull away...If there are now two warring parties, say, the conservatives and the liberals, will they all be able to look to the archbishop to validate their position? Now, that's the trick....Although it would be very odd if they speak to him but not to one another -- if both of them have contact with him and validate their ministries in relation to the Archbishop of Canterbury it's like two separate churches having one archbishop -- so they're talking to him, but not to one another. It'd seem to be crazy ecclesiastical geometry." You can read the full interview in today's digest.

The Bishop of the DIOCESE OF QUINCY, the Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman gave a keynote address at the Forward in Faith National Assembly in London last week and took the gloves off, belting both the Episcopal Church and Affirming Catholicism, saying the latter was "epitomized by all dressed up and nowhere to go." You can read his pungent comments in today's digest. Also at the FiF Assembly at Westminster, the delegates agreed that a fundamental overhaul of the agenda of the National Assembly needed to happen, "to raise a higher profile in the public domain, including an effective public relations strategy so that we are perceived as a living tradition and not a single issue organisation." They also pledged to continue to work with the evangelical organization REFORM to secure adequate structural provision for those in conscience unable to receive the ordination of women as bishops.

Bishop Ackerman gave VOL an honorable mention from the pulpit as a chief source of news for the Anglican Communion.

COMPASS ROSE met at Lambeth Palace and who should turn up for the first time in his purple shirt was the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, the newly minted bishop from Nigeria now resident in the U.S. who will minister to his 19 parishes. He is a member of the Compass Rose Society. A source told VOL that it was the largest group ever, almost all from USA and Canada, with one priest from Hong Kong. 45 went on to Rome for a visit to the Anglican Centre in Rome with Anglican Consultative Council General Secretary Kenneth Kearon.

THE CHURCH PENSION FUND had a board meeting in Hawaii recently and who should be the guest preacher at a Eucharist, why V. Gene Robinson of course. And what did he talk about? Why sex, of course. Wrote a source to VOL; "I was so upset that I didn't receive communion. This stuff is an outrage."

TRANSITIONS. The Brusts, Cynthia and Ellis have departed the American Anglican Council (AAC) and decamped to leadership roles in the Anglican Mission in America. Dave Anderson, AAC president told VOL that it "took me by surprise". Of course the AAC's loss is the AMIA's gain. The Rev. Jay L. Greener, former AMIA Communications Director is moving on to serve as rector of Church of the Redeemer in the Chicago area.

AN ARTICLE in the NYT recently about 4% evangelical youth attending church in the U.S. is the kiss of death for The Episcopal Church ECUSA where that figure is even lower. Most new priests (male and female) coming into the church are second career priests, not youth. When Episcopal youth do come into the TEC they are usually young, vigorous evangelicals who, after they have been trained at either TSM or Nashotah House get "not wanted" signs from liberal/revisionist dioceses.

THE AMISH school tragedy in Lancaster, PA (not 20 miles down the road from where I live) has prompted the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund to provide emergency assistance to support families affected by the October 2 tragedy when six students were killed and five others hospitalized following a shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Bart Township, Pennsylvania. Bishop Michael W. Creighton of Central Pennsylvania said ERD is supplying emergency assistance to the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, which will help with supportive care personnel for emotional and trauma needs through Mennonite Disaster Services. The funds will also support an interfaith effort to help families of children injured in the tragedy.

AN INTERVIEW with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster revealed his sadness at the breakdown of Anglican/RC talks. Following a private audience with Pope Benedict and a meeting in Moscow with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Alexis II, he told journalist Gerard O'Connell at the English College in Rome that he expects the pope won't fudge the difficulties, but he hopes that the things which can be shared in common will be reinforced by the Holy Father. "I think Archbishop Rowan recognizes the difficulty which he has and which the Anglicans are in regarding communion, if you like, between the various provinces."

O'Connor said he felt great sadness over ecumenical talks between the two denominations. "I have spent quite a lot of my Episcopal life in work for ecumenism, especially with the Anglican Communion because I was co-chairman of ARCIC for 16 years and when you pray together, when you meet together, when you become friends together it is very moving and there was nothing I wanted more than full communion, corporate unity with the Anglican Church. But that does now seem to me to be very far distant, and I don't know what is going to happen."

IN PENDOUR HARBOUR, BC an unusual event took place this past weekend when a flotilla of boats gathered for the arrival of their new Church building, Christ the Redeemer on a barge. Members watched outside the harbour entrance to escort the new church building. Several onlookers were struck by its similarity in appearance to Noah's Ark. A company called Nickel Brothers' reversed their large truck onto the edge of the platform, and slowly the church building was brought to terra firma. Seldom has this community of Pender Harbour witnessed such an event. The size and magnitude of the building filled the carpark. Both the congregation and onlookers were dwarfed by this new facility. Just eighteen months ago, the Rev. Barclay Mayo hit the front page of many newspapers as he and his congregation were evicted from their church building over their stand for the traditional definition of marriage. They walked away from a building of 2,400 square feet seating 90 people. Now they have a new building. It will be moved along the highway to its new home. "Once the basement is completed, it will form part of a new 4,800 square foot facility, seating 140 people," said Mayo. Initiatives like this now characterize the life, health and vitality of the congregations of the Anglican Coalition in Canada, who have been set free by their five sponsoring Primates to be both faithful and fruitful, he said

The Anglican Communion News Service reports that the first Anglican women priests were ordained in the CHURCH OF CEYLON. The first women priests in Sri Lanka's Anglican Church have said their ordination is a dream come true. The Rev. Chandrika Mayurawathie, along with the Rev. Malini Devananda, whose husband is an Anglican priest, and the Rev. Glory Jeyaraj, were ordained on September 14 by Bishop Duleep de Chickera of Colombo in the presence of hundreds of church members at the cathedral in the capital. "This is a historic event," Chickera said.

AND this week saw a changing of the guard in the Anglican Church in America. The ACA gets a new leader in the person of The Right Reverend George D. Langberg, Bishop of the Diocese of the Northeast. He was elected to be the next President of the House of Bishops of the largest traditional Anglican Church body in the United States. He succeeds Archbishop and former Primate Louis W. Falk who announced his intention to retire at the end of 2006 as President of the House of Bishops, an office to which he was elected at the ACA's 2005 General Synod.

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