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Seven Episcopal Bishops meet privately with the Archbishop of Canterbury
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Lambeth Palace, home of the Archbishop of Canterbury in London.
Seven of the Communion Partner bishops are meeting at Lambeth Palace in the aftermath of what was the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. This meeting reminds us so much of the meetings that followed the General Convention 2003 and General Convention 2006, the major difference being that each time there is a different set of orthodox Episcopal bishops who appear at Rowan's front door.
I do know that there have been recent significant movements on other fronts as well that are quite interesting. Bishop Schori is being forced to clarify her comments and actions at General Convention. Rowan Williams got an eye-full during his "impaired" visit to General Convention.
The bishops who met with Rowan Williams were: The Bishops of South Carolina, West Texas, Northern Indiana, Albany, Western Louisiana, North Dakota and Dallas.
Dan Martins writes:
I have had this information for some time, and was never asked to embargo it. Nonetheless, it seemed best to wait until the event was actually in progress. It now is.
Seven diocesan bishops of the Episcopal Church are presently at Lambeth Palace for a brief--but, I'm sure, intense--consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury. All seven are members of the Communion Partners, and all seven are signatories to the Anaheim Statement.
I have no inside knowledge of the subjects under discussion, but it doesn't require any eavesdropping equipment to figure out that they're talking about how Dr Williams' "two tier/two track" plan might actually get implemented. More specifically, it is a safe bet that each of the seven is interested in what steps a diocese might have to take to remain on Tier/Track One even as TEC per se is assigned (consigned?) to Tier/Track Two.
The Archbishop's schema is going to happen; of that I am more certain than ever. It will happen too quickly and too decisively to suit the ruling party in the Episcopal Church. It is long since past happening too slowly and too subtly to suit those in what had been TEC's conservative wing, and who are now part of the GAFCON-ACNA axis. But the Archbishop has behaved with utter consistency and coherence since the advent of this crisis in 2003, and there is no reason to think he will deviate from that path now. He will never send the Presiding Bishop an email saying, "The tracks have been assigned. You're in #2." He will say something like, "Here's the Anglican Covenant. Churches that adopt it as their own will remain in full communion with the See of Canterbury."
The General Convention, of course, will never do so. In time, the consequences of that decision will be seen in the form of invitations to Primates Meetings that never reach 815, and registration materials for the Anglican Consultative Council that never make it to TEC's chosen delegates. It will not come with a bang. It won't even be a whimper. It will simply be the sound of silence.
Read it all here.
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