A statement released by the House of Bishops shortly before it adjourned its interim meeting in Portland, Ore., Sept. 28 [TLC, Oct. 15], sounds typically Anglican.

It states, "the Anglican tradition is one of breadth and spaciousness which honors diversity and is able to contain a wide variety of theological perspectives. In our present day, the gift of Anglican comprehensiveness is all the more precious. It is a gift from God, and a gift we are called upon to celebrate and share."

The bishops did not practice that breadth and spaciousness honoring diversity when they adopted a mind of the house resolution which makes mandatory the ministry of women in every diocese. The upholding of an all-male priesthood, which continues to be a theological position held by a large portion of the Anglican Communion, and most of catholic Christendom, will no longer be tolerated in the Episcopal Church after a resolution amending Canon III.8.1 is adopted by the 1997 General Convention.

The resolution does not force bishops to ordain women, but it does state that sex may not be a barrier to access to the ordination process, that letters dimissory may not be denied by the ecclesiastical authority on the account of sex, that no member of the clergy shall be denied a license solely on account of sex, and that sex alone shall not be a factor in the ecclesiastical authority's determination of whether a person is a duly qualified priest.

While the resolution, adopted by the bishops following a lively debate, doesn't state that opposition to the ordination of women as priests is no longer a "recognized theological position," it comes close. In effect, it says that it's all right for a person to have a theological objection to the ordination of women, but it is not all right for a person to practice that position. In other words, that "wide variety of theological perspectives" embraced by the bishops isn't wide enough, or inclusive enough, to encompass those who do not agree with them.