c. 2006 Religion News Service
(UNDATED) Conservative Episcopalians’ steady exodus from the Episcopal Church accelerated Sunday (Dec. 17) as eight Virginia congregations _ including two large, historic parishes _ voted to leave the national body.
The Diocese of Virginia has lost 12 congregations and about 18 percent of its average Sunday worship attendance in recent battles over homosexuality and the authority of Scripture, according to figures provided by the diocese.
The size of the breakaway parishes, their historical importance and their success at “planting” new congregations all make tremors of Sunday’s split shiver through the Episcopal Church, said the Rev. Kendall Harmon.
“This is terribly significant,” said Harmon, an influential conservative theologian from South Carolina. “When you lose large churches, you don’t just lose an individual parish, you lose a great big part of the family.”
The fight in Virginia will be closely watched by both sides _ by conservatives, to see how hard it is to cut ties with the national church; and by church lawyers, who will fight aggressively to maintain control of property.
Eight Virginia congregations announced their decision to leave Sunday. Three more are considering similar action. A looming legal scrap will determine if the diocese loses more than $27 million in property as well.
A “saddened” Virginia Bishop Peter Lee promised a fight.
“As stewards of this historic trust, we fully intend to assert the Church’s canonical and legal rights over these properties,” he said in a statement.
The Virginia congregations have thrust themselves to the front line of a conservative movement, in which U.S. parishes are aligning with theological allies in the wider Anglican Communion.
While conservatives make up a minority of the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church, a majority of the world’s 37 other Anglican provinces agree with their belief that the Bible trumps cultural accommodations on issues like homosexuality.
Tensions in the U.S. church, mounting since the decision to ordain women three decades ago, exploded after an openly gay man was elected bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
Since Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports the consecration of gay bishops and the blessing of same-sex unions, was elected in June, seven dioceses have rejected her authority. One diocese _ San Joaquin, Calif. _ has taken preliminary steps to leave the Episcopal Church.
Two of the breakaway Virginia parishes _ The Falls Church in Falls Church and Truro Church in Fairfax City _ have American roots that stretch back to the 18th century. George Washington was on the governing board, or vestry, of the Falls Church.
Now, however, they are both members of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a branch of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. That church is headed by Archbishop Peter Akinola, an outspoken and powerful conservative who has publicly supported Nigeria’s strict anti-gay laws.
The U.S. convocation will be headed by the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, rector of Truro Church, whom Akinola has appointed a “missionary bishop.”
“(The Episcopal Church) has been our spiritual home and separating from it is very hard,” Minns said in a statement. “But there is also the promise of a new day. A burden is being lifted. There are new possibilities breaking through.”
(OPTIONAL TRIM FOLLOWS)
The Virginia situation had been closely watched in the U.S. for several reasons, among them that Bishop Lee is known as a centrist and adept at forging consensus. His failure to do so bodes ill for the Episcopal Church, said Harmon,
“If he is not able to find his way through this, it doesn’t speak well for the rest of the (U.S. church),” Harmon said.
Lee took a hard line with Truro Church and Falls Church, however, which he said “have created Nigerian congregations occupying Episcopal churches.”
Harmon said, “We’re really dealing with what negotiators call a `level-5′ conflict.
“You have family debating whether or not you believe the family. When that happens, there’s no way through it, you can’t just say we’ll keep eating dinner together,” Harmon said.
KRE/PH END BURKE
Editors: To obtain file photos of Minns and Akinola at Truro Church, go to the RNS Web site at https://religionnews.com. On the lower right, click on “photos,” then search by subject or slug.
