Anglican conflict may reconfigure communion

Now this is interesting. Recently Rowan Williams

predicted it [the Anglican communion] may need to reconstitute itself into a looser federation of a hard core of central "constituent" national churches willing to sign up to a full doctrinal covenant of shared beliefs and a ring of churches "in association" but outside the constitutional structure, accepting some, but not necessarily all, Anglican beliefs and disciplines. "It is not going to look exactly like anything we have known so far," he warned in the statement, which is being sent to the archbishops and presiding bishops of churches in the third-largest Christian denomination.

Which would be very bold and potentially restore some degree of fellowship with estranged and 'continuing' Anglican groups. I think that might be to the good. What would be interesting is what the associational structures would permit and outlaw: interoperable orders? How far? The interoperability of ordained people, at the end of the day is what in Anglicanism constitutes full communion since communion may be shared by any Trinitarian in Anglican churches ... For me also, the intriguing possibility that it would raise would be of badged 'Anglican' churches in partial communion with Canterbury operating in England. A third province by stealth? Probably not since the money would not flow from the official C of E to such bodies, but nevertheless a deal might be done on buildings, for example. Beyond that or alongside that, opens up the possibility of Anglican ecclesial missions where, perhaps, there is a valuing of episcopal oversight and an acceptance of various Anglican distinctives, but the practices fit ill with the ecclesial praxis of the CofE as currently configured. An example which has been on my mind of late would be a network of cell-like groups meeting like house churches who do not fit into the parish system and who do not have the kind of governance and financial structures that fit with the CofE, and yet would value a bishop's ministry and would like the connection with the wider historical church that episcopally ordained people could bring ...
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Williams predicts split to resolve Anglican conflict:
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