Splitting.

It’s been really, really interesting bouncing around the Anglican blogosphere and reading the reactions to what’s going on from traditionals as well as progressives.

I couldn’t help but dive into the comments on this post, after reading the paragraph:

Jesus seems to have been completely indifferent to the "manner of life" of those he called to serve, and those who served him — as long as they served! (Remember the woman who washed his feet with her tears, and Simon’s pious reaction?) You know, Jesus never mentions personal holiness at all; it’s part of the purity code he rejected. He talked about prophetic righteousness and not judging others. Hmmm… could sure use more of that in the Anglican Communion!

And that’s from a parish vicar in the Bronx.  Wow.

Having read the arguments of many different people, I honestly don’t see how this denomination in the United States can remain one. 

What’s the proper Christian attitude towards what’s going on with the Anglicans?  I think it’s really, really tempting for Catholics to be smug about it.  "See?  It just goes to show the inevitable consequences of rejecting centralized authority."  Well, intellectually that’s not inaccurate, but smugness isn’t charitable, and it isn’t helpful.  Should we be pleased or not pleased?  Is this a good thing or a bad thing, that the body of Christians is splitting further? 

The key to figuring this out is to realize that the split (between "progressive" Episcopalians and the greater Anglican communion) has already happened.   It happened in the minds and hearts of individuals, of whole Episcopalian parishes, of seminaries, long ago.   What’s going on now is the admission and acknowledgment of the split, probably leading to its actual manifestation in organizational structure.  We can never, ever rejoice that people have fallen into heresies.  But we can be glad when a heresy is exposed and when, by cutting it adrift, an orthodoxy is preserved.

Not every instance of heresy is necessarily an indication that a "split" has occurred.  Sometimes it can be corrected without schism.  As long as there’s reasonable hope of that, splitting is ill-advised.  But there comes a point when excommunication is the most hopeful act.  It forces a decision.  Heresy that can say truthfully that the guardians of orthodoxy accepts it is a much more dangerous kind.