VANCOUVER, BC-The increasingly bitter jurisdictional battle between two Anglican bishops-Michael Ingham of New Westminster and Terry Buckle of the Yukon-could wind up in court.

At issue is Buckle’s offer in March to provide "alternative episcopal oversight? to parishes within the diocese of New Westminster that broke with Ingham over his approval of a rite of blessing for homosexual couples.

Ten parishes, all members of the Anglican Communion in New Westminster (ACiNW), now recognize Buckle as their bishop. The church’s top leaders warn that this is not allowed under canon law.

Conservatives, however, are undeterred-even if it means going to court.

"We’ve long maintained that what Bishop Ingham and his synod have done is completely illegal,? says Peter Turner, president of Fidelity B.C., a non-profit organization that supports the defenders of Anglican orthodoxy.

Prepared to defend

"We haven’t taken legal action, because we’re supposed to be Christians and we would rather proceed without [going to court]. But we certainly now are prepared to defend ourselves.?

People outside of the ACiNW have also indicated their willingness to take legal action against Ingham, Turner adds.

In September, two Primates commissioned Buckle to provide pastoral oversight to the dissident parishes, even though Ingham had earlier invoked the canon to "inhibit? Buckle from ministering as a bishop within the New Westminster diocese.

The clash escalated even further a month later when Archbishop David Crawley, metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of B.C. and the Yukon, launched disciplinary proceedings against Buckle.

By "asserting that he has full episcopal jurisdiction over several parishes in the Diocese of New Westminster," Crawley wrote in a letter to Anglicans in the province, Buckle "is attacking the fundamental structures of our Church."

Citing canon law, Crawley said no bishop "can claim or assert any authority within the bounds of another diocese. Any bishop proven to be doing so can be suspended, deprived of his or her position as bishop, or be deposed from the order of bishops."

"Many of us," he added, "are deeply grieved and embarrassed that a bishop, who has sworn an oath to maintain order in the life of the Church, is himself the author of disorder."

No formal charges

Crawley later told the Anglican Journal that while no formal charges have been laid, Buckle knows "perfectly well" what they are.

Chris Hawley, Buckle’s spokesman, counters that Crawley’s "prejudiced" letter violates both canonical process and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

"Anybody who’s been charged, whether it’s in the Anglican Church of Canada or otherwise, is presumed innocent until they are found guilty by a court," he says. "And it is blindingly obvious that is not the case at the moment.'

Buckle’s lawyer, according to Hawley, has asked Crawley to withdraw his letter and follow due process. If he refuses, Buckle may seek an injunction.

"There isn’t a court in the land that wouldn’t look at the canons of the Anglican Church and recognize that Archbishop Crawley is simply ignoring them," Hawley says.

He also accuses Canada’s Anglican leadership of a "selective application" of the canon.

"We made all the bishops aware a year ago that we believe the bishop of New Westminster did not have the jurisdiction to proceed with same-sex blessings, but that legal opinion was ignored," he says.

"Yet without a charge or a trial, they are trying to remove Bishop Buckle."

Ludicrous claim

Turner also says Crawley’s claim that a diocese’s boundaries are absolutely inviolate is "ludicrous."

"There are very serious proposals to have bishops [installed] specifically for First Nations people," he says. "That crosses all kinds of geographical boundaries."

Meanwhile, Crawley and his four fellow metropolitans have warned orthodox Anglicans both inside Canada-Buckle in particular-and "from afar" to desist from trying to "undermine the necessary and difficult conversation" that Anglicans will have next year at General Synod on homosexuality.

But Turner says they have only themselves to blame for the current turmoil in the Anglican Church by failing to "rein in" Ingham before he made good on his promise to initiate the same-sex blessing.

"It’s too late, guys. The deed’s been done."