This just in from the Anglican Communion News Service:
From the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion
‘In response to a number of queries, and following consultation with The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Secretary General of the Anglican Communion has issued the following statement (emphasis mine):
“The Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) is, to my knowledge, a “mission” of the Church of Nigeria. It is not a branch of the Anglican Communionas such but an organsation which relates to a single province of the Anglican Communion. CANA has not petitioned the Anglican Consultative Council for any official status within the Communion’s structures, nor has the Archbishop of Canterbury indicated any support for its establishment.” ‘
The Revd Canon Kenneth Kearon
We’ve discussed previously, the dubious claim by Mary Springmann, vestry registrar at Truro, that CANA was “an authentic part of the Anglican Communion and acknowledged by the Primates and by Archbishop of Canterbury.” That claim has now been refuted.
The release gives rise to other questions, though. If CANA is a creature of a single province of the Communion, is Martyn Minns, former rector of Truro and now a bishop in the Church of Nigeria, a bishop of the Anglican Communion or just of the Church of Nigeria? And if, as expected, the people of Truro and The Falls Church vote to become part of CANA, have they, in effect, left the Anglican Communion? I can imagine this being argued both ways, and as it is early in the morning, I am not going to enter that argument yet myself.