At the Mere Anglicanism Conference last month in Charleston (see article), we were amazed to see how many bishops were involved in the proceedings.  Between the freshly minted diocesan Mark Lawrence, other Episcopal Church bishops, CANA Bishops, AMIA Bishops, Ugandan Bishops, REC Bishops and others of various progeny scattered throughout the room, it was striking to see how top-heavy this gathering was. At one point in the conference a comment was quietly made to a distinguished Canadian priest, reflecting on the proliferation

of bishops amongst American Anglicans. This learned cleric responded with a wry smile, “they don’t seem to get it; bishops are not the solution, bishops are the problem.”

It should be said, this clergyman is no Presbyterian. He is an Anglican through and through and would defend the historic episcopate to the death. Although he was speaking in jest, he did make a significant point about there being a potential dark side to having all of these bishops fluttering about.

There are a couple of problems. First, where is the leadership coming from? With all of these varying jurisdictions having some piece of the pie, we need to ask who is giving leadership to American Anglicans.  There seems to be a great spirit of cooperation amongst all of these bishops, but we are in the early stages yet. When in the future, hard decisions need to be made about representing American Anglicans in the Anglican Communion or settling difficult parish disputes, or determining contentious ecclesiastical questions, who will give leadership?

There is an obvious temptation for conservative Anglicans in the USA and Canada to flex their ecclesiastical muscle by consecrating new bishops--whatever jurisdiction they spring out of.

But one should always keep in mind that such a preoccupation often carries with it a serious distraction--and that is an avoidance of the real, grassroots work that needs to be done in parishes across Canada and the USA. More bishops, and the elaborate new ecclesial structures that go along with them, are not going to solve the problem which is contemporary Anglicanism.

We currently have no less than three Anglican entities operating in Canada, each of which is claiming to be in full communion with the Anglican Communion, as well as a dozen or more continuing churches with varying claims. There have been whispers in various circles of consecrating some home grown Canadian priests for Episcopal ministry.  In many ways it would be wonderful to see some of these men set aside for the work for which God has clearly gifted them.  In a healthy Anglican church we would probably already see some of them in this capacity. But let us exercise patience in this matter. There are in Canada already a number of bishops (retired and otherwise) exercising oversight to parishes whose convictions have forced them to depart from the ACC. And let’s not forget that there are a good number of godly diocesan bishops who are maintaining witness to the historic teaching of the Church and whose commitment lies with the Anglican Communion. Let us not complicate matters both now and in the near future with the addition of more bishops.

It would be a gift to the Anglican Communion--and would help restore the battered reputation of our church in Canada--if conservative Anglicans in Canada distinguished themselves, not as top-heavy with bishops, but bottom-heavy with increasing numbers of faithful clergy and laity worshipping God, growing in holiness, and declaring to the world that Christ has died for the remission of their sins.