Eighteen years ago, Dean Paul Zahl flew a black flag to protest the ordination of a partnered homosexual as bishop of New Hampshire. Since then, the cathedral has been embroiled in a long-standing fight with its bishops, with its most recent dean, Andrew Pearson resigning over unresolved tensions with the Episcopal Church.

The Advent Dean said he planned to start a congregation affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America.

This week these two denominations offered a series of acknowledgments and commitments between the churches intended to deepen their relationship, and look at new ways of working together to serve the people of Scotland.

The agreement was welcomed and approved at both the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the established church, and the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church earlier this year.

"Recently, he has used his influence and power to sow dangerous misinformation about vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic contributing to the tragic deaths of more than half a million Americans. Furthermore, he openly rallied support for the January 6th insurrectionists, undermining our democracy through the propagation of thoroughly debunked conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election.

The Church of England wants to go out in a blaze of glory, unlike a Guy Fawkes skyrocket that briefly bursts and then flames out as it hits the Thames River. A grand operatic death is what the Archbishop of York wants. That's what he told the Church of England Synod recently.

The question is, will the CofE even have that option?