Rowan Williams has made a statement on TEC’s GC2009. It is classic Rowan, dangling tempting titbits before the noses of both sides in the hope of bringing them within sniffing distance of each other and thus maintain the illusion of unity:

It helps to be clear about these possible futures, however much we think them less than ideal, and to speak about them not in apocalyptic terms of schism and excommunication but plainly as what they are – two styles of being Anglican, whose mutual relation will certainly need working out but which would not exclude co-operation in mission and service of the kind now shared in the Communion. It should not need to be said that a competitive hostility between the two would be one of the worst possible outcomes, and needs to be clearly repudiated. The ideal is that both ‘tracks’ should be able to pursue what they believe God is calling them to be as Church, with greater integrity and consistency. It is right to hope for and work for the best kinds of shared networks and institutions of common interest that could be maintained as between different visions of the Anglican heritage. And if the prospect of greater structural distance is unwelcome, we must look seriously at what might yet make it less likely.

When Rowan declares that “it helps to be clear” one suspects that he must be about to quote from someone else; but no. Apparently we have now “two styles of being Anglican” each proceeding along its own track: perhaps the track idea was inspired by N. T. Wright’s train wreck article.

What is sadly missing in Rowan’s attempt to put a brave face on things is the apparent absence of any understanding that, if a church persistently denies doctrines that are necessary for it to be called Christian, it should no longer be called that. For Rowan, the important thing is that Anglican provinces can hold radically different views on the centrality of Christ, the importance of the bible, the meaning of individual salvation and still be called “Anglican” – even if one has ceased to be Christian.