So just how should the Church have stomped out Protestantism

[Contarini]

Hello Edwin,

Just a minute there.

I am not thinking that you are deliberately misrepresenting the situation, but I think you may be wistfully misreading it.

Note that I expressed doubt as to whether anything will be done.

No one actually has any authority to expel TEC from the “communion”. It has never been addressed as a possibility and there is no procedure.

You are completely wrong that it has never been addressed as a possibility. The Primates at Dar es-Salaam issued an ultimatum–the Episcopal Church has until Sept. 30 to respond, and clearly if they don’t respond in a satisfactory manner many of the Primates will break communion with the Episcopal Church, and are likely to demand that Canterbury does so as well. If Canterbury doesn’t, many of the “Global South” provinces may break with Canterbury.

The Anglican Communion is not a communion in the traditional sense for genuine Apostolic churches, “Communion” is just another name for organization as they use it, because they have already reached the point where the Global South churches will not break bread with the North Americans, so they are not “in communion” anymore.

As I’m sure you are aware, these states of impaired communion have existed at various times in the history of the Church, including very recently between Constantinople and the Church of Greece over a jurisdictional dispute. You are certainly right that the Communion is fracturing, but the fracture remains somewhat tentative.

You are completely wrong in saying that “Communion” equals “organization.” There is actually practically no organizational connection among the member churches. It really is about Communion, and it functions much the same way as your own Communion does. You are right that there has never been a procedure to expel a member church, but that is precisely what the primates have been working on for several years now.

But they are all still part of this informal organization

Tentatively.

The Archbishop of Canterbury can do nothing. He hosts the Lambeth Conferences every ten years where the invited bishops are supposed to mutually agree on teachings and practices, but there is no means to enforce the findings of Lambeth, even among those who have attended. No control whatever. The ABC must rely on donations from outside of the Church of England because the expenses are so great, and most of THAT money is coming from the very troublemakers whom you claim will soon be under discipline!

No, I did not claim that. Discipline has been threatened. You are right to point to the difficulties facing any exercise of discipline, though I’m not sure about your claim concerning funding for Lambeth. It is not true, however, that the ABC can do nothing. He can choose not to invite certain bishops to Lambeth. You are, again, right to point out that many of his words and actions in the past year or so have cast doubt as to whether he is going to do that. But at some point the “Global South” bishops are going to demand decisive action, and you are wrong that there is nothing he can do.

but you have obviously embraced the Latin understanding of Apostolic Succession.

I am a Latin. I can’t help it. The Eastern tradition isn’t my heritage, much as I sometimes wish it was.

Edwin