(RNS) The Episcopal Church’s chief deputy for ecumenical and interreligious affairs, Bishop Christopher Epting, will retire at the end of the year, the church announced Monday (Aug. 31).
Epting, 63, was appointed by former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold in 2001, when he became the first bishop appointed to lead the ecumenical office, according to Episcopal News Service.
Current Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is officially the Episcopal Church’s chief ecumenical officer.
Jefferts Schori said she is “very grateful for Bishop Epting’s abundant and effective gifts in ecumenical and interreligious work over the last several years.”
Epting, who was Bishop of Iowa from 1988 to 2001, said he will return there and become interim dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Davenport at the end of the year.
Epting said his resignation is not related to staffing and budget cuts at Episcopal Church headquarters in New York, but said the ecumenical and interreligious office, like other offices “just won’t have the staff to do what we’ve done in the past.” Epting’s announcement comes as Christians continue to grapple with the role of gays and lesbians in the church; in July, the Episcopal Church lifted a de facto ban on gay bishops and approved blessings for same-sex unions.
“It has certainly complicated the matter,” Epting said. “On the other hand it’s been a bonding experience (with other churches) because we’re all struggling with it.”
Among the highlights of his tenure, Epting said, was reaching a full-communion pact with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in 2001, building ties with Catholics and traveling internationally to meet with fellow Anglicans and leaders of other faiths. “It’s been a great blessing,” Epting said.