Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams has sent his final Advent letter to the Anglican Communion as he gets ready to retire this month as leader of the Church of England after a decade of service.

He wrote that in the 10 years he has been in charge, "our Communion has endured much suffering and confusion," but added that the Church has been privileged to "to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ in different ways within our common life."

"Despite many questions about how our decisions about doctrine and mutual responsibility are made in the Communion, and some challenges to the various 'Instruments of Communion,' the truth is that our Communion has never been the sort of Church that looks for one central authority," Williams wrote. more >>

An official with a diocese that recently voted to leave The Episcopal Church has explained that congregations opposed to the decision are free to remain with the mainline protestant denomination.

The Rev. Jim Lewis, Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of South Carolina, told The Christian Post that "Continuing Episcopalians" are free to "re-associate" with the denomination.

"Churches wishing to leave the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and re-associate with the Episcopal Church are free to do so, in accordance with their own bylaws and articles of incorporation," said Lewis. more >>

A day after the Church of England failed to come to a two-third majority vote to pave the way for women bishops, its spiritual head, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, has suggested that the Anglican church has lost credibility and is "blind" to the trends of society.

"Whatever the motivation for voting yesterday, whatever the theological principle on which people acted and spoke, the fact remains that a great deal of this discussion is not intelligible to our wider society," Williams began.

"Worse than that, it seems as if we are willfully blind to some of the trends and priorities of that wider society," he continued. "We have as a result of yesterday undoubtedly lost a measure of credibility in our society." more >>

The Church of England has voted to block a proposal seeking to allow women to serve as bishops after a day-long debate on Tuesday at its General Synod.

The two-thirds majority needed to pass the legislation was narrowly missed, meaning that women will not be able to join the highest echelons of the clergy. According to church officials, it will likely be a minimum of five years before a new vote on the issue can be put on the table.

The vote in the House of Laity came down to 132 in favor of women bishops to 74 against, The Associated Press reported. In a separate vote, bishops voted 44 in favor and 3 against, while the rest of the clergy voted 148 in favor verses 45 against – so although most Anglican officials were in favor of the proposal, the crucial two-thirds majority was not met, falling short at 64 percent, or only six votes. more >>

The Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church has sent a pastoral letter to the members of a diocese whose leadership is defecting from the denomination.

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori sent the letter to the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina on Thursday, writing that she wants the Diocese to remain part of the Church.

"Your presence adds to the ability of this community to discern the will of God, even if you disagree vehemently with one or another resolution passed by a particular General Convention," wrote Schori. more >>

A Virginia congregation that broke away from The Episcopal Church over theological differences has been notified that its appeal was granted by the State Supreme Court regarding issues surrounding funds and property.

The Falls Church Anglican, a large congregation in Fairfax County that left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia years ago along with several other conservative churches in the Commonwealth, was granted its appeal on Friday.

Jeff Walton, Anglican program director at the Institute on Religion & Democracy, told The Christian Post that the Va. Supreme Court's decision was a "positive development." more >>