This brazen act by the Episcopal Church (USA) effectively removes any real communion from the Anglican Communion. Clear and eloquent calls to avoid the inevitable schism that would follow his election were presented to Robinson and the Episcopal Church by Anglican leaders from the "Global South" as well as conservative Episcopalians in the United States. In a pattern now familiar, Anglican leaders from Africa, Asia, and other southern hemisphere regions have been overwhelmingly opposed to the election of a homosexual bishop, even as bishops from the decadent and secularised North have failed to prevent his election.
The reality is even worse than first appears. The pastor of St. Alban's Church in Washington, D.C. told National Public Radio that if Anglicans in the Global South broke communion with the Episcopal Church (USA), this would not be so bad after all. As this pastor asserted, "it's not unlike never speaking to your second cousin who lives in Nevada. It's too bad you never speak, but it really doesn't matter that much."
This statement shows clearly that it is the radical revisionists on the left who are breaking faith with their orthodox brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion. It is the orthodox Anglicans who are standing on the tradition of their church as well as the clear authority of Scripture. In the upside-down world of postmodern America, the moral revolutionaries often claim that it is the traditionalists who are radical. The actions of the American church show the hollowness of that charge.
Looking back, we can now see that the meeting of the Anglican primates in London produced very little. Even though conservative claimed a majority of the leaders present, the primates were unable to prevent the election of Bishop Robinson, and thus they now have a schism on their hands as testimony of the ineffectual character of their leadership. Even if conservatives decide to press for a separate jurisdiction to include conservative Episcopalians in the United States, they must face the fact that their communion is now mortally wounded by this unilateral act of the Episcopal Church (USA).
Furthermore, the homosexual advance in the Episcopal Church will not be limited to the election of Bishop Robinson. The October 29, 2003 edition of The Washington Times reveals that the Episcopal Bishop of Washington, D.C. plans to develop rites for homosexual "marriages" for his diocese. Bishop John B. Chane claims that a resolution passed during the recent Episcopal General Convention gives him permission to move in this direction.
