In this short paper I shall argue that the claim that the GSFA are illegitimately weaponising the Eucharist in this way is misplaced. The reason I say this is that, as someone who was engaged in Faith and Order work for the Church of England for a decade and a half, I can say with absolute confidence that what GFSA are proposing is in strict accordance with established Anglican ecclesiology and Catholic ecclesiology more widely.

When the convener strongly upholds and stands firm in the authority of Holy Scripture and the traditional Anglican formularies (the Thirty-nine Articles, two books of Homilies, and the 1662 Book of Common Prayer) he deserves our attention and full respect, but otherwise Canterbury has the authority of a donut vendor on Lambeth Avenue.

It is also clear that the ACNA began otherwise. Bob Duncan's announcement that "Anglicanism is neither papal, nor confessional, it is rather apostolic and conciliar" ("Anglicanism Come of Age") is a way of saying "We believe the Bible, and we find our identity in partnership with those who don't follow Lambeth and intensely despise what the Episcopal Church stands for" - the AMiA, Forward in Faith, REC, etc. are in this together (Common Cause).

There was tremendous pressure especially by the Jesuits who controlled Rome at the time to agree to this teaching that had little precedence in church history, even though Catholics today are told that the idea goes back to the medieval church and even to antiquity. Arguments for "the primacy of Peter" were not initially directed to doctrinal truth, but rather as an attempt to strengthen the church's power. On this day in 1870 the council overwhelmingly adopted this statement: