The Episcopal Church (TEC) reactions to the Communique from the February Primates' Meeting are fascinating. The Primates requested, among other things, the suspension of litigation over property issues against dioceses and parishes leaving the TEC (they are still going on); that no bishop authorise any service of blessing for same-sex unions; and they asked the TEC House of Bishops to confirm that candidates for Episcopal elections living in a same-sex relationship not receive the required consent for election.

The Primates asked the TEC Bishops to reply by 30 September this year, and then they concluded, "if the reassurances requested of the House of Bishops cannot in good conscience be given, the relationship between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion as a whole remains damaged at best, and this has consequences for the full participation of the Church in the life of the Communion."

What does that last sentence mean? No invitations to Lambeth?  Being a "second tier' member of the Communion? TEC responses have varied from the satisfaction of biblically orthodox Episcopalians to outrage from "liberal' Episcopalians.

A well-known Washington journalist immediately suggested that the request not to authorise services for same-sex blessings only meant there couldn't be official diocesan services, and that this didn't mean they couldn't happen.

Presiding Bishop Katherine Schori explained to TEC that they had been asked to enter a Lenten "season of fasting' to refrain from blessing same-sex unions and from consecrating practising homosexual clergy as bishops. She seemed to imply that they refrain for a time, until the Primates and others eventually change their minds.

Other bishops were defiant. For example, Bishop Gene Robinson said TEC should not give in to demands that it roll back its acceptance of gays. "Doesn't Jesus challenge the greater whole to sacrifice itself for those on the margins?" he asked. "Now is the time for courage, not fear."

Central New York's Bishop Skip Adams said, "let me be clear. As bishop of this Diocese I will not sacrifice [gays and lesbians] for the sake of an unjust unity. The gifts of God's [gay and lesbian] people will continue to be welcome in this Diocese in all areas of ministry."

Washington's Bishop John Chane said he was willing to be persuaded that a temporary compromise may be necessary "to keep the Communion intact", but he added "under no circumstances will I support a moratorium on the consecration of individuals living in same-sex relationships to the episcopacy, and under no circumstances will I enforce a ban on the blessing of same-sex unions in the Diocese of Washington, if that, in fact, is what the Primates are asking us to do."

The Dean of the prestigious General Seminary in New York said, "In 1994, General became the first Episcopal seminary to allow same-sex couples to live together on campus. That decision has enabled General to become a more inclusive community." He said that however TEC responded to the Primates "this must be done without compromising our Church's progress toward full inclusion of gay and lesbian persons in all areas of our life together."

As I write, TEC Bishops are meeting. They heard a paper from Dr Katherine Grieb from Virginia Theological Seminary, a member of the Communion's Covenant Design Group. She urged them to hold a Special General Convention about the Primates' requests to TEC, because their polity doesn't allow the Bishops to make the decision on their own. (We Aussie Anglicans would also hold that view.)

The TEC Bishops called for an urgent meeting with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Primates' Standing Committee. The Archbishop of Canterbury's reply? "This initial response… is discouraging'. The TEC bishops urged their Executive Council not to agree to the Primates Pastoral scheme as it is against their church polity and also "scripturally unsound' because it encourages the breaking of relationships. They affirmed their wish to remain part of the Anglican Communion. They admit to, and encourage, a diversity of opinion on human sexuality among themselves.

If these represent mainstream TEC views, where is the Anglican Communion headed? Watch this space, there's certainly more to come.