c. 1997 Religious News Service

UNDATED _ An Episcopal Church seminary with deep roots in the evangelical wing of the denomination has relaxed its 25-year-old policy barring students and faculty from sex outside of marriage and homosexual behavior.

The board of trustees of Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Va., voted Jan. 22 to tuck their expectations about what goes on in seminarian bedrooms into a short document that stresses individual responsibility to others rather specific behavior.

The new reliance on individual sexual responsibility replaces the previous prohibitions against”sexual intercourse outside the bounds of marriage, adulterous relationships and the practice of homosexuality.” A separate policy on sexual misconduct dealing with issues such as harassment, unwanted advances and outright assault was left unchanged.

The change comes as the 2.5 million-member denomination is embroiled in a wrenching debate over human sexuality, especially the place of gays and lesbians in the ordained ministry. Last year, a church court acquitted retired Bishop Walter Righter of heresy charges stemming from his ordination of a non-celibate gay man as a deacon, the first step toward priesthood.

Bishop Peter J. Lee, the trustees’ chairman, said the new policy means”sexual identity or orientation need not bar one from admission”to the school.

In a joint statement, Lee and the Rev. Martha J. Horne, seminary dean and president, said the new policy _ called”A Call to a Holy Life”_ stresses”a call to holiness of life among those preparing for leadership in the church.” Despite the school’s ties to the more evangelical side of the denomination, there has been little reaction to the change in policy.

The school, located just outside of Washington, D.C., has 210 full- and part-time students. Enrollment, like that of eight of the other 10 seminaries in the denomination, has been slipping in recent years.

Seminary officials and trustees declined to comment on the new policy. But Lee, who is prelate of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, said a strict interpretation of the old policy would mean that”gay and lesbian couples in a same-sex relationship would be barred from admission.” Lee said that he didn’t recall any situation under the old policy in which the issue was raised to bar individuals from admission. However, he added, the school’s dean has far-reaching powers to remove anyone who is an embarrassment or a danger to the school.”What I’m trying to do as chairman of the board is to prevent some 28-year-old from being denied admission because we discovered he was having sex with his fiancee,”the bishop said.”Let’s face it, most seminarians are in their thirties or their forties,”he added.”There are no house mothers and no bed checks.” Lee also said he is not sure why the original policy was put in place but suspects it was a reaction to the sexual revolution that exploded in the 1960s.

The new policy comes at a time when the average age of seminarians in the church is rising and their numbers are declining.

Figures from the Episcopal Church’s Board for Theological Education show that full- and part-time enrollments in master of divinity programs _ the basic training area of seminaries _ dropped 33 percent since 1986. Also, the board said in a report last year that the average age of entering students went from 27 to 40 during the past 25 years.

MJP END BRIGGS