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We all remember William Jefferson Clinton’s discussion of meanings in Monicagate. Well, it looks like another round of ward parsing is about to begin in the Anglican Church. After meeting of the Anglican Communion in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, the Communion issued a communiqué that covered many things including same-sex marriage blessings in the Episcopal Church of the USA.

Although only 2.3 million of the worldwide 77 million Anglicans, the Episcopal Church in the US wields influence by virtue of its wealth compared to the rest of the world. A schism has developed in the Episcopal Church over the same sex marriage in certain churches as well as the elevation of an open homosexual to bishop. The primates want to see fidelity in the Epsicopal Church but they also want to avoid a split. They are aiming for the purity and peace of the church.

The interesting situation concerns the language of the communiqué. The parsing has begun. Here is the specific language of the world wide Communion directed to the Episcopal Church:

In particular, the Primates request, through the Presiding Bishop, that the House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church1. make an unequivocal common covenant that the bishops will not authorise any Rite of Blessing for same-sex unions in their dioceses or through General Convention (cf TWR, §143, 144); and2. confirm that the passing of Resolution B033 of the 75th General Convention means that a candidate for episcopal orders living in a same-sex union shall not receive the necessary consent (cf TWR, §134);unless some new consensus on these matters emerges across the Communion (cf TWR, §134).
The Primates request that the answer of the House of Bishops is conveyed to the Primates by the Presiding Bishop by 30th September 2007.

In bringing this situation to a head, the Communion has also put together a Pastoral Council to act on behalf of the Primates in consultation with the Episcopal Church. This in itself seems to be a rebuke to the Presiding Bishop in the US and her cohorts, including Bishop Robinson. It is clear the Primates want this matter addressed and resolved and they are not going to allow the Episcopal Church to fiddle and diddle on this matter.

However, here is where the parsing begins. Do the primates mean only authorized Rites of Blessing are prohibited? If so, non-authorized blessings should be o.k. So, if bishops do not authorize the rites, but they still happen, is that within the scope of the communiqué? Those in favor of the homosexual union blessing believe this allows the Episcopal Church to remain in the Communion.

Well, the next few months will tell. Maybe the primates planned for the “spinning” of their language with the appointment of the Council. Or, maybe they were giving the Episcopal Church a way out of their non-Biblical mess. The latter result would seem to be contrary to the orthodoxy the world wide Communion has held to these past few decades. But, if it is the result, it would be, as we call it in the law, form over substance. And, the substance is non-Biblical. Permitting priests to perform “unauthorized” blessings of same-sex marriages is the church not being the Church. The Anglicans would be sacrificing purity for peace which is impossible in Christ’s Church.