What is being considered, however, is more sweeping in its implications with far reaching consequences not merely for the clergy but laity as well. The disciplinary canons were originally constructed on THE Uniform Code of Military Justice used by the U.S. armed services; the changes now being considered make the canons closer to a pastoral model that could have far reaching consequences - mostly negative to ordinary Episcopalians.

Three main issues are on the table.

When he first came to office he was the liberal knight in shining armor. The UK broad sheets lauded him as an intellectual that fitted the new mood of the Anglican Communion. He was pleasantly vague about doctrine, somewhat loose on other peoples' morals, especially on the mordant issue of homosexuality, but he had the right Oxbridge credentials.

"I have been struck by the fact that all attention in Anglican circles has recently been on (1) the place or not of gays, ordained or not, in the Anglican Church and (2) the future of "the Anglican communion" (a colonialism, if ever there was one.)

It all began much like a football match with the team of Primates emerging from the tunnel, as one Irish pressman observed. They sat down in front of microphones facing a battery of TV cameras and press. Archbishop Robin Eames immediately launched into a brief introduction of the Primates and the issues.