The archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, has his hands full trying to prevent the worldwide Anglican church from splitting over gay marriage and, in the case of the U.S. Episcopal Church, the ordination of a homosexual bishop.
Three U.S. dioceses are actively considering leaving the Episcopal Church. One of them, San Joaquin in California, said in a statement on Friday that it could decide to join the Southern Cone as early as next month.
Already, several U.S. congregations have put themselves under the authority of African archbishops, and four Canadian congregations took similar steps several years ago.
Harvey said on Monday that 18 to 20 Canadian congregations were considering joining the Southern Cone.
The global Anglican church, dominated by its African, Latin American and Asian wings, has demanded that the Canadian and U.S. branches refrain from authorizing the blessing of gay unions, on the grounds that they are unbiblical.
Same-sex blessings have proceeded in the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster, the first diocese to initiate them, and on Saturday the Ontario diocese of Niagara decided to allow them, though it did not set a time when they could start.
Harvey portrays these decisions as walking away from the historical Anglican church rather than him walking away from the Canadian branch.
"They have sort of written themselves out of the Anglican Communion, because by the standards of the Anglican Communion all this cannot happen," declared Harvey.
Gay marriage is legal across Canada, though religious organizations are not required to perform the ceremonies.
