Cuthbert (circa 635 A.D. to March 20, 687 A.D.) was the direct Christian heir of Patrick, Columba and Aidan, which means that he was the direct beneficiary of the Celtic Christianity that literally saved Western Civilization during the Dark Ages, making Britain a central and significant repository of Christian learning.

A Celtic monk, Cuthbert is known today for his work at the Synod of Whitby, 664 A.D.

At Whitby, representatives of centralizing Roman and disbursed Celtic Christianity met to decide on what date Easter should be celebrated, since each used a different date.

But much more was at stake: Whose polity was to prevail? Should seventh-century Christianity be a loose confederation of provinces, each with its own structures and particular Christian vision, or should it be more centralized, tightly defined and controlled?

Cuthbert persuaded our Celtic ancestors to adopt centralized Roman practice, and thereafter has been known -- by those who are the descendants of the Roman triumph, it should be noted -- as "A Healer of the Breach."

From our Reformed vantage point some 13 centuries later, the consequences of Whitby easily can be viewed as disappointing, if not disastrous, for British Christianity. A unique and vital earth-centered, creation-spirituality largely disappeared behind the centralized wall of Roman bureaucracy, institutionalism and power.

From this perspective, it is not difficult to see how the Celtic surrender to Roman hierarchy and centralized control also -- perhaps inevitably -- laid down fertile soil for the Reformation in England and Scotland some nine centuries later.

It is serendipitous, therefore, that our House of Bishops' initial response to the Anglican Primates' recent communiqué should be issued on Cuthbert's feast day: March 20.

The same issues that were raised at Whitby continue to have currency for the descendants of that Council: Should Anglican Christianity be a loose confederation of provinces, each with its own structures and particular Christian vision, or should it be more centralized, tightly defined and controlled?

This time, however, the distant Episcopal province has replied differently about polity to the forming hierarchy of a centralizing Anglican institution.

The reply is generous and conciliatory while also being unusually direct and forceful. While stating that "We affirm once again the deep longing of our hearts for The Episcopal Church to continue as a part of the Anglican Communion," pledging to "continue to work" to find a solution satisfactory to all and making it clear that their statement is not "the last word," our bishops rejected the primates' proposal for a plan that included the unconstitutional and uncanonical intervention of foreign "prelates" in our province. In particular, they noted:

"[The proposal] is a very serious departure from our English Reformation heritage. It abandons the generous orthodoxy of our prayer book tradition. It sacrifices the emancipation of the laity for the exclusive leadership of high-ranking bishops. And, for the first time since our separation from the papacy in the 16th century, it replaces the local governance of the church by its own people with the decisions of a distant and unaccountable group of prelates."

And, one might add, the proposal threatens the 13 centuries it has taken for us to recover from the generous but ultimately fruitless compromise with the forces of centralization, hierarchy and power represented by the Synod of Whitby in 664 A.D.

The Anglican wheel is starting to turn its full circle, but the outcome this time promises to be different. So it is that our bishops can conclude:

"With this affirmation of both our identity as a church and our affection and commitment to the Anglican Communion, we find new hope that we can turn our attention to the essence of Christ's own mission in the world, to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to liberate the oppressed and to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor (Luke 4: 18-19). It is to that mission that we now determinedly turn."

Our Celtic forebears would be proud of them.

And we should be, too.