Tony Clavier – formerly a Presiding Bishop in one of the Continuing Anglican Churches (now an Episcopal priest again) that were formed in the 80’s in response to actions taken by General Convention in 1976 and 1979 – is feeling like he’s seen the present situation in the Anglican Communion before…

“In 1977 a meeting of those who wished to leave TEC was convened in St. Louis. Before the meeting was over a group created a church which intended to ask the Roman Catholic Church for uniate status. Another group elected a bishop and formed the Diocese of the Holy Trinity. Soon after the meeting ended another group met to create a non-geographical Diocese of Christ the King. These last two dioceses were in a body entitled the ‘Anglican Church in North America.’Over the next year, as the leaders of this new body sought to find Anglican bishops to consecrate their bishops-elect, conflicts arose over what we used to call churchmanship, with Low Church people electing a safe bishop whose connections abroad might produce an Asian Anglican bishop willing to consecrate the three bishops-elect. The leadership of ACNA also fought about Constitutions and Canons and whether dioceses should be geographical or not.

Once the consecrations were over- a bishop of the Philippine Independent National Church joined an Episcopal retired bishop to consecrate one of the three men, and then he joined in the consecration of the other two – the internal tensions snapped and within a year ACNA had split three ways into the Anglican Catholic Church, the Diocese of Christ the King and the Low Church ‘United Episcopal Church’.”

Tony goes on to layout many other similarities between then and now. When he lists them all, it’s rather striking.

And so the obvious question is (as Tony points out) what is different about the way the present will turn out from the way the past turned out? I don’t see that there is…

Read the rest here: DEJA VU