The Schism of 2003

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And so liberals and conservatives are in (rare) agreement that ECUSA will not make it through the London meeting unscathed. The worst sanction would be its de facto expulsion. (Outright dismissal is beyond Williams' authority, but he could achieve a similar effect by declaring his communion with them "impaired" and withholding invitations to Communion events.) The most lenient outcome that conservatives might accept would be a theological knuckle rap and a probationary period during which ECUSA would be expected to repent by retracting Robinson's episcopacy.

American liberals insist that the primates have never produced that specific a demand. And since their meetings customarily end with a statement made by consensus, stubborn opposition by a handful of liberals could force a milder conclusion. Others have suggested an option more in keeping with the Anglican penchant for "muddling through." Last Friday Cape Town Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, the most liberal of Africa's primates, proposed that a commission be set up to study how the church might learn to live with its disagreements on this issue, just as it did on women's ordination. "Reducing issues to stark polarizations may make good television," he said, "but it is not a constructive approach."

In Dallas, Anderson insisted that unless Robinson's election is retracted, "We split." Then he asserted that even in the face of a demand by the primates, such a retraction "is as likely as daisies growing in the Arctic Circle." (ECUSA spokesman James Solheim confirmed this, insisting, "[Robinson] will be consecrated.") So whatever the primates decide, the coming years may be grim indeed. Opinions differ on how much of the U.S. church might depart if a schism occurs — Anderson estimates 30% and liberals describe "a militant fringe." But any exodus is likely to spark dozens of lawsuits for control of church assets, including real estate and pension funds. Legal fees alone could impoverish both sides. Liberals also warn that Third World churches risk cutting off the channels of funding from the West.

The insurgents are ready to take the risk. "This is simony," says Bernard Malango, the primate of Central Africa. "Let the powerful people keep their money." He and other conservative primates told time that the moral cost of communion with an unrepentant ECUSA was higher. "We have lost our credibility," says Tanzania's Mtetemela. "How can we draw people to the faith of Jesus Christ if we do not follow the Scriptures?" Fudging things in the Anglican tradition would do no good. "We've talked around it long enough," says Drexel Gomez, Archbishop of the West Indies. "We can't continue limping along."

"I feel a tremendous peace," said the aac's Anderson as the Dallas meeting wound down. "There's a period in a marriage where a spouse is battered and abused and they finally take the kids and the suitcase and get out of there. They may be sitting in a shelter, but they're finally able to say, 'I'm safe.'" Others may want to hark back to Duncan's Solomon reference, and wonder whether, after all the pulling and prodding, the contested child may not be permanently damaged.