As the "liberal threat" in the Church of England increases, orthodox Anglicans warned that they may distance themselves from the church and carry out its own ordinations.
At an Oct. 16-17 meeting in Central London, the head of Reform - a traditionalist network of churches and individuals within the Church of England - said parishes discontent with the Church of England's liberal drift must prepare for "courageous action" which may include looking overseas for irregular ordinations in the future.
"As the Church gets more fractured maybe bishops or retired bishops will be able to help out so we can find an 'English solution,' but if not we may have to look overseas," the Rev. Rod Thomas, chairman of the Reform network, said to CEN. "This is not what we're looking for but as the pressure from liberals increases it becomes more likely.
"This would be a last resort," he added, "but you can see this happening more frequently as the liberal threat increases and we need to plan ahead to maintain our role of reforming the Church."
The network isn't seeking to leave the Church of England but rather reform it from within, according to the church newspaper.
In a press release issued at the meeting's end, Rev Thomas urged the Archbishop of Canterbury to recall invitations to
next year's Lambeth Conference issued to US bishops who continue to push a "same-sex agenda", warning that "failure to do this will seal the division of the Communion, end all idea of a covenant, leave the Archbishop's role in tatters and rapidly spread fractures through the Church of England."
He spoke of Reform's plan to work in partnership with other evangelical groups to find solutions for continuing gospel ministry in England, as the Common Cause Partnership is doing in the US.
