The road back

    It will be a long road to health, but today, in Israel, the orthodox of the Anglican Communion took the first and most important step toward recovery.  The GAFCON communique issued this afternoon is a masterstroke.  It neither caves in with the typical Anglican vacillation nor declares a formal parting of the the ways with the rest of the Communion, both of which would have been welcome news to the the Episcopal Church and Church of England leadership.  Rather, the GAFCON statement makes it quite clear that they are and will remain Anglicans and that the criteria for being Anglicans is theirs, not Canterbury's, to bestow.  A new reformation has occurred. 
    By maintaining the power of the conciliar process of the Communion's primates, of which the orthodox have the lion's share, the leftists' power has been tossed aside.  Canterbury will be told, in not-too-subtle terms, if he wishes to have a Communion over which to be Archbishop, he had better take his orders from the orthodox from now on.  The real powerful bishop in Britain is now Michael Nazir-Ali, not Rowan Williams.
    What does this mean for North American orthodox Anglicans.  Nothing right away.  But it seems clear that soon the Communion's primates will be recognizing a new North American province and de-recognizing the Episcopal Church as the American branch of the Anglican Communion.  This will probably have little to no influence to civil judges making decisions on property disputes as parishes and dioceses leave the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church.  American Anglican parishes will be hardscrabble and start from lowly beginnings, winning souls with faith rather than furnishings.  But given the decline in numbers and demographics of the Episcopal Church and other so-called progressive Christian denominations, there will probably be a whole lot of church buildings on the market shortly.