But one expert says the dispute is best understood in American political terms: as a battle of states’ rights (the diocese) against the federal government (the Episcopal Church USA).

"For a lot of our history, just like the history of the United States, we were a federated church of dioceses — read ‘states’ — that had their own authority," said the Rev. Ian Douglas, a professor at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Mass. "The negotiations between states rights and the power of the federal government in the United States has always been a backdrop for the polity discussions of the Episcopal Church."

When the Declaration of Independence signaled the country’s split from England, it also separated Anglicans in America from the Church of England, whose head is appointed by the British Crown. As the country drafted a Constitution, American Anglicans did, too, creating what has become known as the Episcopal Church USA. Both documents were ratified in 1789, Douglas said.

In response to last year’s naming of Bishop V. Gene Robinson, Duncan helped form the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes. Duncan and others say the network will fight for biblical teachings within the national church framework. The Episcopal Diocese of Dallas last month became the ninth to join.

Douglas stopped short of saying the national church is headed for a civil war. But Duncan’s opponents paint him as a secessionist who is trying to either split the church or form his own.

One group, Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh, hopes to bring the conservatives back into line with the national church, said Lionel Deimel, the group’s president.

Deimel’s group is buttressing its views with the research of Joan Gunderson, an Episcopal church historian from Pittsburgh. Gunderson says the national church wasn’t formed by dioceses — they came later or, at best, grew up alongside the national church — so the national constitution holds sway.

"We acceded to the constitution and the canons of the church and have recognized them," Gunderson said. "If not, then we’re not Episcopalians anymore. We’re free to go find another church."

Duncan has said he’s not leaving the church, but that the national church is departing from its roots.

"What this amendment really is doing is creating a compromise," said Peter Frank, communications director for the Pittsburgh diocese. "We just can’t go any farther in the shifting of the focus of (church) authority away from Scripture."

Although Duncan’s conservative network is a minority in the Episcopal Church USA, which has about 2.3 million members, his allies say most of those in the 77 million-member Anglican Communion — the worldwide group of Anglican churches — agree with him.

"It’s amazing to me that something designed to keep us united in faith and witness with the vast majority of both Anglicans and Christians around the world could be described as schismatic," Duncan said.

Last month, a 17-member worldwide Anglican commission unanimously told the American church to stop promoting to bishop any people in same-gender unions "until some new consensus" emerges.

Liberals say the opinion leaves the matter open to more debate; conservatives say liberals are arrogantly disregarding a worldwide majority.

Gunderson said the national church isn’t legally bound by findings of the Anglican Communion, because they don’t share a common constitution.

"It’s more like, I belong to a club, we hang around together," Gunderson said.

But conservatives say all Anglican churches are supposed to be bound by the 39 Articles, a grouping of statements established in 1563 that cite Scripture as authoritative, among other things.

END