Some two and a half years ago, Bishop John MacNaughton, then diocesan of West Texas, wrote a two-part Viewpoint article for this magazine informing readers that the Episcopal Church is no longer one church but two churches. One church has scripture as its primary source and rejects the idea of same-sex blessings and ordination of non-celibate homosexual persons. The other believes in the validity of and ordaining of non-celibate homosexual persons and blessing committed same-gender unions.

The 72nd General Convention, meeting in Philadelphia in July, did nothing to refute Bishop MacNaughton's observations. In fact, it made his words look prophetic.

"Clearly, I'm not the only one who thought this," Bishop MacNaughton, now retired, said recently in a telephone interview. "I'm the one who wrote it down." He also feels more strongly than ever that there are two churches.

"It is abundantly clear the so-called liberal side has not abandoned scripture," he said. "Scripture is less relevant to them. They bring a whole new series of interpretive principles to scripture that puts it in a relative position."

He thinks the liberal side has two main principles: Justice is the key to understanding scripture, and everything Jesus said and did is now subject to new "scientific and sociological data."

In part two of his 1995 article, Bishop MacNaughton wrote of four elements which were holding the church together: The Book of Common Prayer, the national apportionment, the leadership of the Presiding Bishop and the House of Bishops, and the canons of the church.

"It is clear that the notion that the national apportionment holds us together no longer holds water," he said.

Bishop MacNaughton is not hopeful that the two churches can be reunited. "Not in the short term," he said. "Two things are happening now. The first is the emergence of the American Anglican Council (AAC), which does not intend to leave the church. What they're providing is an alternative focal point for the church - biblically based, stressing evangelism and church growth, which stands side by side with the national church.

"The other thing is the movement of the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA) toward a separate province, which is much more dangerous, because that involves organic separation. Once you leave, it's hard to come back."

He said the possibility of the two sides growing closer together depends a great deal on what the next Presiding Bishop does.

"If he acquiesces to the liberal demands, then we've got a serious problem," Bishop MacNaughton said. "If he does what he says he's going to do - listen to both sides - then there's hope."

Bishop MacNaughton's 1995 observation that the issues of difference are the authority of scripture and the nature and polity of the church rings more true than ever. The next question is, what will the church do about it?

David Kalvelage, editor