It’s complicated.
The Anglican Diocese of the Trinity (ADoTT) has joined the Anglican Church of Nigeria (CoN) in its criticism of the Anglican Church in North America for its “gay stand.”
Located in Canada, the Diocese of the Trinity is a satellite of the CoN. ACNA is a breakaway group unaffiliated with the Anglican Communion. Its precursor was the Convocation of Anglicans in North America led by Martyn Minns. The Diocese of the Trinity originated in CANA. ADoTT and other ethnically Nigerian dioceses of ACNA aligned directly with CoN in 2019.
In January of this year, ACNA’s College of Bishops issued a pastoral statement on sexuality and identity. That statement, and a subsequent “Dear Gay Anglicans” statement signed by a group of lay and ordained, provoked the ire of CoN and other conservative provinces of the Anglican Communion. The “Dear Gay Anglicans” statement was apparently posted on the website of ACNA’s Diocese of Pittsburgh. It was removed at the request of the interim bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, Martyn Minns.
ACNA’s Archbishop Foley Beach issued a statement last week meant to address the concerns, but criticism continues unabated. Awkwardly, Beach also leads GAFCON, an affiliation of conservative Anglican Communion provinces, and breakaway groups like ACNA.
The video statement from the Diocese of the Trinity follows.
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Where things get tricky on these issues is that ACNA often is more willing than TEC to address misconduct in its ranks. I mean, in my case, Susan Goff is even willing to say that allegations of illegal conduct by clergy are only actionable if criminal charges are involved.
The moral of the story is that if ACNA gets its act together on the matter of same-sex marriage, TEC is toast. TEC simply cannot continue to live in splendid denial, pretending that it’s still the quasi-state church and that folks will suddenly wake up, discover how great a it is, and flock to its bright red doors.
I surely hope that TEC uses these conflicts to do some soul-searching, ask if it is really committed to living into the gospel imperative (versus seeing senior leaders make it to retirement), and making changes as needed.