What Does It Even Mean to Be Anglican?

Having been raised in a Reformed Presbyterian microdenomination, my first impulse is to separate over secondary and even tertiary issues.  To put it another way, we made everything a primary issue.  I have spent the last 15 years of my life trying to retrain my instincts, which is why I heartily embraced the ecumenical attitude of the ACNA six years ago.  We agree on the fundamentals, but we can agree to disagree on secondary issues.  

But...

Where is the line?  How much latitude is too much?  What do we do when people insist that primary issues aren't primary issues?  Where do discipline and accountability come in, especially when a bishop is involved?

The Anglican world has been on fire for the last few weeks.  A bishop was found guilty after a tumultuous trial.  Another bishop has come under fire for associating with a TEC bishop.  Meanwhile, debates have raged online over what Anglicans really believe about the Eucharist and Apostolic Succession.  For this former Presbyterian who can't seem to expunge the Presbyterianism from his heart, it has all been very disheartening.    

It seems like what Anglicans truly lack is an identity.  I am far from the first to say this.  In fact, it sometimes feels like it's our favorite subject.  I think, however, that it is the common denominator for many of the problems facing the ACNA, and I'd like to give a bit of an outsider's perspective.

I have often been told that Anglican identity is found, not in confessions or even our own formularies, but in common worship.  We gather around the Eucharist through the mediation of the BCP.  This is what unites, defines, and distinguishes us.  The liturgy, closely connected to the book, is what makes us Anglicans.  

Is it enough?  Is that really enough?  The idea of mere Christianity--catholic Christians worshiping and serving together without harping on finer points of theology--is admirable, but does it hold up when you're trying to operate an institution in the real world?     

What happens when a bishop unites liturgically with someone (a someone who represents a whole lot of other someones) whom the ACNA considers apostate?  What happens when a diocese can't pick a bishop because they're divided on whether or not women can be validly ordained?  What happens when a bishop tries to make churches within his diocese actually act like Anglicans?

What does it even mean to be Anglican?  

Identity requires clarity.  Clarity requires choices.  Choices require courage.

I'm beginning to think that a lack of identity is our identity.  The ACNA (to say nothing of the worldwide communion) is a denomination in search of a basic understanding of who we are.  Trying to do this without defining (with some--any--degree of certainty) what we believe is proving to be difficult, if not impossible.

I have often struggled with communicating to others what it means to be Anglican.  My Reformed and Evangelical friends have often asked what Anglicans believe on any given subject; I have almost never been able to answer that question concretely.  For the last six years I have tried to view that as a good thing, but it's beginning to look like a fatal flaw.  

If you've studied English history even a little, you know that, like all nations, they've had their fair share of tumult, upheaval, etc.  This is particularly pronounced in the Tudor era, which saw the separation of the Anglican Church from the Roman Catholic Church.  The English Reformation was always a little bit different than those happening in places like Germany, Switzerland, and Scotland.  There were always forces trying to expedite or restrain the reformation, and the result was always a bit of a compromise.  This is not necessarily a bad thing, but this inability (refusal?) to define and draw lines seems to have gotten into the Anglican DNA.  

I don't know where Anglicans go from here.  The ACNA seems resolute on maintaining as broad and ecumenical a tent as possible.  I respect the impulse, but I do wonder how sustainable it is.  If you can't agree on fundamental questions like who can be ordained and what's happening at the Eucharist, how can you continue to build together?