† R.I.P. ACC

The much anticipated split in the Anglican Church of Canada has now come: Anglican Church offshoot launched. The most recent precipitating act came on saturday at the synod of the Diocese of Niagara: Diocese of Niagara “walks apart” from Anglican Communion. The "new" continuing body will come under the episcopal oversight of Archbishop Gregory Venables and the Province of the Southern Cone. The Diocese of Sydney and the Province of the Indian Ocean have expressed support for this effort. It is unclear whether the ACC, the Episcopal Church and the new North American Anglican province can all remain within the Anglican communion. It seems likely that the Archbishop of Canterbury, presiding as he does over one of the fading provinces of the communion, will not be the one to make this judgement.