“Anglican leaders demanded Monday that the U.S. Episcopal Church unequivocally bar official prayers for gay couples and the consecration of more gay bishops to undo the damage that North Americans have caused the Anglican family.”
I believe that the recent ruling by the Anglican Council of Bishops reflects the ongoing shift of the center and power of Christianity towards former missions. I have written about this development in a previous post.
In the case of the Anglicans, the churches and bishops in Africa are far more conservative than those in Europe or America. Also, the African churches are growing at a fast pace and gaining greater power and authority within the Communion while the more liberal churches in the USA and the UK are declining.
It will be interesting to see if the Episcopal Church in America decides to remain in the Anglican Communion or goes its own way. The Bishops have ruled that the American church must refrain from observing gay unions and ordaining any more homosexual bishops. The ball is now in the American court–literally. Actually several conservative congregations in America are already trying to leave the Episcopal Church and join with the Anglicans in Africa. Their cases are already in court–law suits over church property.