The Canadian take on the proposed parallel province. The Toronto Star reports what others have that it will not be recognized by Canterbury.Breakaway conservative Anglicans hope to set up a new entity within the church to rival the established power structure in Canada and the U.S. within the next three months. And they say failure to recognize their efforts could irrevocably divide the communion.
"If this new province doesn't work, there's probably going to be a much bigger split than just North America," Bishop Don Harvey told a news conference yesterday.
Harvey, moderator of the conservative Anglican Network in Canada, said the new entity would offer a conservative alternative to the liberal national churches in Canada and the U.S. While provinces in the Anglican communion are traditionally set up along geographic boundaries, the Network is working with dozens of U.S. congregations to break new ground by setting up a new North American province along theological lines.
Harvey concedes the communion has no process in place for the Network's request. Nonetheless, he hopes the proposal will be on the agenda of a meeting of the church's 38 primates, representing 75 million Anglicans worldwide, this February in Egypt.
Leaders of the church in both countries, as well as Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Anglicanism's spiritual leader, have said they oppose such a new province being part of the Anglican Communion.
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/536542
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