Proponents of the American Anglican Council (AAC) claim that the recent actions by the U.S. Episcopal Church in approving a gay bishop represent a drifting away from the historic faith. But many other educated and knowledgeable Episcopalians would instead characterize those actions as godly discernment in an ever-changing world.
The actions of General Convention 2003 resulted from an open, democratic, prayerful process. That process unfolded over many years, with the participation of virtually the entire Episcopal Church.
AAC proponents claim that those actions are still illegitimate, because they go against traditional scriptural interpretations as reaffirmed by the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops. I'll respond by paraphrasing what one of my fellow parishioners said: I'm an Episcopalian first and an Anglican second.
Never in its history has the Episcopal Church been willing to subject itself to the authority of foreign bishops -- quite the contrary. Why do AAC proponents think we must suddenly do so now?
Moreover, it's hard to see why the Episcopal Church's actions at GC 2003 were any less legitimate than those of the Council of Nicea or the Lambeth Conference. Indeed, the decisions in Minneapolis are arguably even more legitimate, because they were voted on by all orders of the church, not just by bishops.
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