In actual fact the worldwide communion of Anglican churches has already begun to fall apart. Recently, a group of conservative Anglicans founded a new movement, a church within the church. Bishop Williams is under fire from all directions; his leadership is openly contested.
The three-week conference is being boycotted by 230 of the 880 bishops. The reason for all the commotion is the advance of woman clergy and gay priests.
A woman bishop
In the 1970s when the first women were ordained as priests in the United States, hundreds of Anglican clergy left the church. Most of them joined the Roman Catholic Church.
Last week, the Anglican leadership confirmed the decision that women priests were eligible to be ordained as bishops. Some 1300 clergy threatened to resign. It won't be until 2014 before the first woman is ordained as a bishop, but it is the principle that is at stake here.
The Reverend David Houlding warned:
"First gay weddings, and now women bishops. This is the beginning of the end."It is not officially on the agenda, but the differences of opinion between progressives and traditionalists will continue to dominate the conference over the next three weeks. The Anglican Church has no less than 70 million faithful in 164 countries, most of them in the former British colonies.
The liberal wing, which is strongest in the Anglophone world, is calling for tolerance. The liberals see the Anglican community as broad and inclusive. They want to adapt the church to society.
Anglican clergy in Africa, where homosexuality is often illegal and considered a punishable offence, tend to take the Bible literally. Jesus had twelve apostles, they say:
"That is no coincidence. So why should we accept women church representatives in prominent positions?" To which a liberal uttered the typical response:
"because it is inconceivable that Jesus Christ would teach discrimination in the 21st century."
First gay priest
For a long time homosexuality was covered with the cloak of charity in the Anglican Church. At the very least, it was tolerated. Until 2003, when the first openly gay priest, Gene Robinson, was ordained bishop in the United States.
That set off the commotion that is still raging today. The mood worsened when the Anglican Church in Canada began blessing gay marriages. And that while the Anglican community had earlier decided that homosexual acts are sins. Bishop Robinson has not been invited to the conference.
So the unrest in the Anglican Church has been going on for years. Some say, for centuries - it has rarely been quiet since 1534 when King Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church because the pope refused to grant him a divorce.
That is when the Anglican Church began. The present conflict could very well be the first step towards a disintegration of the English state church. The current upheaval may have the same effect as the events that led to the founding of the Anglican Church, five centuries ago.
Source: By Radio Netherlands correspondent Lia van Bekhoven, Copyright Radio Netherlands
