The current debate in the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) over its relationship with the worldwide Anglican Communion has been building for some time. Some Episcopalians (including priests, bishops, and dioceses) have broken or are considering breaking their historic affiliation with the current authoritative bodies of ECUSA because they believe they have betrayed the historic teachings and morality of the Anglican tradition. The author places this emerging crisis in context: historical, moral, theological, cultural, and ecclesiological. He explores how the rift between Episcopalians in the United States originated, how it is being played out now in the rift between the official representatives of ECUSA and the Anglican Communion, what the arguments are for and against all sides, and what are the prospects for either reconciliation at some level between the opposing parties or deepening schism in the future. Kirkpatrick explores the variety of contentious issues, rather than focusing just on the one that gets the most media attention: homosexuality.The crisis in the Church goes much deeper than that, however, and involves issues of church, tradition, and biblical authority. The author provides necessary background but focuses primarily on the events that have occurred since 2003 when ECUSA approved the election and consecration of an openly gay bishop. While the situation continues to evolve and change, the book provides readers with an up-to-date account of the history of the crisis, an analysis of the conflicting arguments, and a contextual guide for understanding what might come next in this unfolding story.

Provides a concise and readable overview of the current crisis in the Episcopalian Church in the U.S. and its relationship with the Anglican Church

W.B. Yeats, The Second ComingIntroductionSection One: The Beginnings of the CrisisChapter One: The Resolution that Shaped the Debate and the Election that Shook the Communion Mere anarchy is loosed upon the worldSection Two: The Way We Were: Historical BackgroundChapter Two: From Rome to Post-Establishment America By Way of Canterbury Things fall apartChapter Three: The Bishops Assembled: The Lambeth Conferences from 1867 to the Present Surely some revelation is at handChapter Four: The Uncompleted Struggle for Womens Ordination: From Defective Men to the Conscience Clause The blood-dimmed tide is loosedSection Three: From Robinsons Election to the PresentChapter Five: From the Chapman Memo to the Windsor Report: The Tension Between Unity, Uniformity, and Episcopal Authority The centre cannot holdChapter Six: From Dromantine to San Joaquin The worst are full of passionate intensitySection Four: Perspectives from the DiscontentedChapter Seven: The Conservative Plea for Moral Certainty and Ecclesiastical Discipline Spiritus Mundi Troubles My SightChapter Eight: The Communion in Africa: From Imperially Colonized to Moral Colonizers Somewhere in the sands of the desertSection Five: Biblical Perspecctives on Slavery and HomosexualityChapter Nine: Reconciling Natural Law, Biblical Truth and the Moral Abomination of Slavery Twenty centuries of stony sleepChapter Ten: The Bible, Sex, and the Contest of InterpretationsA gaze blank and pitiless as the sunSection Six: ConclusionConclusion: The Shape of the Future Turning and Turning in the Widening GyreTime-lineBibliography: