c. 2006 Religion News Service

(UNDATED) The new head of the Episcopal Church, on the job for barely one month, announced Thursday (Nov. 30) that she would dispatch a deputy into dioceses where she is unwelcome because of her progressive theology or her gender.

Seven U.S. dioceses have asked to be put under the guidance of someone other than new Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was installed as the church’s first female leader on Nov. 4.

Jefferts Schori said she would appoint a “primatial vicar” to perform her duties _ such as consecrating new bishops _ in dioceses hostile to her leadership. The vicar has not yet been named.

Some conservatives, however, said the idea was dead on arrival because they had no say in who Jefferts Schori would send them.

The “provisional” approach to healing the rift in the Episcopal Church _ and the wider Anglican Communion _ was crafted by Jefferts Schori and a group of bishops that began looking for a solution at a September meeting.

Several leading conservative bishops who attended the September summit, however, did not return for a follow-up meeting in November when the plan was put together.

Jefferts Schori will appoint the vicar _ a church title given to someone who represents or acts in place of the bishop _ “in consultation with” Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.

Robert Williams, a spokesman for the Episcopal Church, said a bishop has not yet been chosen for the post but the plans are “to take effect Jan. 1, 2007” and remain in place for at least three years.

The plan is the latest attempt to maintain fragile unity with conservative bishops, dioceses and churches who opposed the election of an openly gay bishop in 2003. Others oppose Jefferts Schori because they do not believe women should be priests, or dislike her support of the church’s progressive stance on homosexuality.

The plan comes just one day before the Diocese of San Joaquin, Calif., will vote on cutting all ties to the national church; Jefferts Schori has warned the bishop there to consider the “consequences of such action.”

The move also indicates a willingness by Jefferts Schori to directly tackle the growing divide, even if it means ceding some of her authority in an attempt the keep the church from outright schism.

Bishop Mark Sisk of New York, a member of the group that drafted the plan for the new post, said a quick response was needed for the affected parishes and dioceses.

“It is not the assumption of this plan that this is the last word,” Sisk said in an interview. “It’s an attempt to hear and take seriously … people whose membership and presence and voice we value very greatly … even if the larger church doesn’t agree with the positions they hold.”

Whoever is appointed Jefferts Schori’s vicar would report directly to her and an advisory panel that includes representatives of the archbishop of Canterbury, the conservative dioceses and lay and clergy leaders.

But the fact that Jefferts Schori would be appointing the vicar has already riled conservatives.

“I don’t think it’s even in the ballpark,” said the Rev. David Anderson, president of the Atlanta-based American Anglican Council, which supports the the seven dioceses objecting to Jefferts Schori’s leadership.

“For her to remain as the decision maker about designating a primatial vicar renders it laughable.”

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