ECUSA, the Global South and change

Why bother to try to write something up when the Green Knight does it so well.

thoughtful and well-meaning people have said that the Northern churches need to slow down and wait for the Southern churches to "catch up." The argument is that the North is imposing things on the South for which the South is simply not ready.

Here's why that argument is wrong.

First, the argument is based on a false idea of what the Anglican Communion is. It is not actually a worldwide church in the same way that the Roman Catholic Church is; it is instead a fairly loose affiliation of national churches that have traditions and historical roots in common.

On the contrary, the Southern churches have reacted in an unprecedented way, by interfering with the Northern churches. They have, for example, ordained anti-bishops and sent them into the Northern churches in order to undermine the authority of legitimate Northern bishops.

Second, the idea that the South has to be permitted to "catch up" is based on a false idea of historical progress. It is based on the false assumption, as the philosopher John Gray puts it, that modernity is always and everywhere the same:

So if they have to go their own way, then fine. We can't stop them and shouldn't try, especially not at the expense of justice. We've got to listen to what we think the Spirit is telling us, not what a group of people is telling us. They have to do the same thing. There's really nothing else we can do and remain truthful to what we believe to be right.

Anyhow, if there is a formal schism it's not the end of the world. Christendom has never really been united despite what some people claim; sectarian breakups have happened before and will happen again. It's inevitable in a world of differences and change. That's not a disaster. It's just a little thing called life.