A proposal to exclude The Episcopal Church (TEC) in the U.S. from the rest of the Anglican Communion has been rejected by the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion in London. Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, said that he finds this decision “encouraging” and a step toward healing.
In a recent meeting, the committee decided that such an action, proposed by committee member Dato Stanley Isaacs of South East Asia, “would inhibit dialogue and…would therefore be unhelpful.” The proposal followed the consecration of Bishop Mary Glasspool, a partnered lesbian, in the diocese of Los Angeles in May.
The Episcopal Church’s decision to proceed with the consecration broke one of three moratoria proposed in the Communion’s Windsor Report. The report requested a period of “gracious restraint” during which provinces would not proceed with: the ordination of gay or lesbian people as bishops; the blessing of same-sex unions; or cross-border interventions by bishops outside their own province.
Bishop Ian Douglas, who serves on the committee as a representative for the Anglican Consultative Council (ACC), pointed out that it is the responsibility of the ACC and the Primates’ Meeting to respond to proposals such as the one put forward by Isaacs.
with files from Episcopal News Service
