Like bankruptcy, religious schisms start gradually and then move all at once. The doctrinal crisis between the Church of England and the Global Anglican Communion stretches back decades.
In its statement excommunicating the See of Canterbury, the Global Anglican Futures Conference (GAFCON) reviews this history, noting the watershed Lambeth Conference of 1998 when traditional Christians attempted to halt the theological drift underway in the upper circles of the Church of England.
A little over two years ago, GAFCON suspended ties with Canterbury, urging then-Archbishop Justin Welby to reverse course and return to orthodoxy. Of course, Welby subsequently resigned in disgrace and far from repenting, the church leadership installed a woman as his replacement.
If one looks at the timeline, this is remarkably swift action on the part of GAFCON, indicative of both the seriousness of the situation and the loss of patience on the part of traditionalists. At a certain point, the bromides about “fellowship” and “Christian solidarity” ring hollow when one side is venerating altars and the other is desecrating them.
The collapse of the Church of England into complete folly (not to mention heresy) is striking because – unlike most Protestant sects – it does not subscribe to Sola Scriptura or Sola Fides. That is to say, it draws not just on the Bible, but on the Apostolic Succession, the traditions of the Church, and the writings of the Church Fathers. The dispute with Rome was always a political one, though various efforts were made over the years to create some a theological fig leaf to cover this up.
For example, there were various efforts to use purported problems with Papal authority to enter into communion with the Eastern Orthodox, who clearly would have enjoyed sticking a thumb into Rome’s eye, but the Church of England’s growing theological liberalism made this a practical impossibility. As has been made crystal clear: theological liberalism is a one-way street. Any effort at “unity” with it requires complete submission.
The salvation of souls is at best a tertiary consideration, far less important than desecrating sacraments and promoting sexual immorality.
In an intriguing development, King Charles III is going to Rome to pray with Pope Leo XIV. He will be the first English monarch to do this in 500 years. Is this a sop to ecumenicalism, or is it an admission that the Church of England is a lost cause, and that disestablishing such a fringe organization is the next logical step?
One can only imagine what such luminaries as Chesterton, Waugh and Tolkien are thinking about this.
Chateau Lloyd 
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