St. George Is Down South

Those of you who have been with this blog for a while know what a fan I am of Bishop Peter Akinola, of the Anglican church in Nigeria (for evidence of his right reverend righteousness, click here). There's a great post over at Right Mind (click here) about the power shift happening in the Anglican Church at large, including World Magazine's statement that "the Africans have already taken some U.S. churches under their wing." That's something you didn't hear reported while Gene Robinson was being ordained, but has been the case for some years. Many Episcopal churches here either explicitly submit to the Nigerian church, or take their cues from Akinola, as if he were the bishop of Canterbury. What is new is that the Nigerian church has now officially acknowledged that it will begin to create what they have called "convocations and chaplancies" for the faithful outside of Nigeria (i.e. they are infringing on the American church's ground). I appreciate the hesitance the Nigerian church displayed in making this move. There have been calls for it for a while now. But I don't doubt that it's time. Thank God.

In a few years, the vast majority of Anglicans are going to be separated from communion with Canterbury. That makes me sad, but it also fills me with hope.

A couple of posts down I mentioned controversy in England over the "racist" red cross of St. George. If you want racist and insulting, try this on for size: the Anglican Primate of Ireland accused the "Global South" of the Anglican church of having been bought. That is, that they've exchanged their "conservativism" for cash from wealthy northern "conservatives." Click here for Bishop Akinola's open letter in response.

Click here for Reuter's report on the Australian church's decision to consider separation from Canterbury.