<P> The Anglican balancing of the sources of authority has been criticized as clumsy or "muddy ." It has been associated with the Anglican affinity for seeking the mean between extremes and living the via media . It has also been associated with the Anglican willingness to tolerate and comprehend opposing viewpoints instead of imposing tests of orthodoxy or resorting to heresy trials . </P> <P> This balance of scripture, tradition and reason is traced to the work of Richard Hooker, a 16th - century apologist . In Hooker's model, scripture is the primary means of arriving at doctrine and things stated plainly in scripture are accepted as true . Issues that are ambiguous are determined by tradition, which is checked by reason . Noting the role of personal experience in Christian life, some Episcopalians have advocated following the example of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral of Methodist theology by thinking in terms of a "Fourth Leg" of "experience". This understanding is highly dependent on the work of Friedrich Schleiermacher . </P> <P> A public example of this struggle between different Christian positions in the church has been the 2003 consecration of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man living with a long - term partner . The acceptance / rejection of his consecration is motivated by different views on the understanding of scripture . This struggle has some members concerned that the church may not continue its relationship with the larger Anglican Church . Others, however, view this pluralism as an asset, allowing a place for both sides to balance each other . </P> <P> Comedian and Episcopalian Robin Williams once described the Episcopal faith (and, in a performance in London, specifically the Church of England) as "Catholic Lite--same rituals, half the guilt". </P>

Head of the episcopal church in the united states