Built to last?

Religion | Property disputes arise as conservatives prepare to leave the Episcopal Church | Edward E. Plowman

The rumblings of Episcopalians at war are getting louder, and they are being heard in the distant reaches of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church (TEC) is the 2.3-million-member U.S. constituent of the fast-growing Communion, which claims nearly 80 million members in 38 provinces or regions, the majority of them in the predominantly conservative "global south."

TEC's waywardness in doctrine over the years, culminating in recent approval of gay sex and now rejection of Anglican calls to repentance, has landed it in deep trouble. Its conservatives are heading for the exits, and many in the Communion are poised to eject it—and designate a conservative alliance as the new official Anglican presence in North America.