Monday, July 13, 2009

TEC: AN INTERNATIONAL JURISDICTION

For a long time I have been mystified by the control TEC maintains over churches that now should logically belong to more "local" Anglican provinces. In his latest report from TEC's General Convention, David Virtue, has a piece on this. He says:

Mrs. Katharine Jefferts Schori, at a press conference today, made the point that The Episcopal Church is not a national church, but an international church with 16 dioceses scattered around the world. (Dioceses can be found in Latin America, Central America, Asia and Europe). Now this begs the question that as we live in a post-colonial world, why are these dioceses still attached to TEC and why have they not been released to the local Anglican province where they are located? Why is the Diocese of Taiwan not affiliated to the Province of Southeast Asia? Furthermore, if TEC can have its offshore dioceses, why is it so wrong for the Anglican Province of Nigeria to have CANA on North American soil? Consistency is apparently the hobgoblin of small minds.

It is not surprising that one of the international guests at TEC's General Convention is Australian Primate Phillip Aspinall. After all - and in spite of the fact that local Anglo-Catholics generally don't like to admit it - the Anglican Church of Australia would be just like TEC in every way if it were not for the size and robustness of the Diocese of Sydney.

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