News for Week Ending 9/10/2012

Duncan, Murphy dispute status of Anglican Mission

The Conflict between the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) and the Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) is beginning to look like a conflict between ACNA’s Archbishop Robert Duncan and AMiA’s Bishop Charles Murphy. Under Murphy, the AMiA has morphed into a missionary society—see the new AMiA constitution here—but has been unable to develop a stable relationship with a larger Anglican entity. (The most recent Pittsburgh Update on the conflict between the two organizations can be found here.)

Duncan, in a recent letter and in an Anglican TV interview, has accused Murphy of dictatorial leadership of the AMiA and an unwillingness to be accountable to anyone. Murphy, in a reply to Duncan, has argued that there is room both for an “orthodox” Anglican church in America and a missionary society such as he has created. Murphy’s response to Duncan is in the form of a letter from AMiA leaders and supporters. Whereas Murphy seems without support from current primates, he is supported by several retired ones. Duncan, on the other hand, argues that retired archbishops should keep out of current Anglican affairs.

David Virtue, who has been a long-time supporter of the AMiA, has written a helpful analysis of the ACNA-AMiA conflict that is helpful in understanding how it developed.

S.C. cathedral votes to sever Episcopal Church ties

VirtueOnline reported September 9, 2012, that the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul in Charleston, South Carolina, voted 55-10 to sever ties with The Episcopal Church and declare allegiance only to “the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina.” (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) Episcopalians complained that the vote was not well publicized. According to VirtueOnline, less than one quarter of the congregation voted.