Episcopal Diocese Votes to Secede From Church
An Episcopal diocese in California overwhelmingly passed a series of resolutions yesterday that position it to secede from the Episcopal Church and affiliate with conservatives in the global Anglican Communion.
If the Diocese of San Joaquin affirms the move in a second vote next year, the small diocese, with 48 parishes and 7,000 members, would be the first to try to break from the Episcopal Church, which has been torn by conflict since the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003. Until now, only individual parishes have severed ties.
The vote by the diocese is one more step in a carefully planned strategy by conservative Episcopalians in the United States and primates of Anglican provinces, many in the developing world, to unite the conservatives, claim the mantle of Anglicanism and isolate the Episcopal Church, the 2.3-million-member American branch in the Anglican communion, which claims 77 million members worldwide.
The San Joaquin diocese, which does not ordain women, has long been one of the most conservative of the church’s 110 dioceses. It is among seven dioceses that were so disturbed by the church’s decision to consecrate a gay bishop that they have refused to accept the authority of the church and its presiding bishop. They have also appealed for “alternative oversight” to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who as head of the Church of England is considered the “first among equals” among the Anglican primates.
“This is the separation,” said Craig Petz, a lay delegate to the diocese’s convention in Fresno, Calif., where the vote took place. “It’s done. There’s no equivocating.”
Mr. Petz, from St. Mary’s Church in Manteca, Calif., said he was delighted by the resolutions, but an active caucus of clergy members and laity who strongly oppose separation from the church were despondent.
Laurie Goodstein and Carlyn Marshall
7,000 here, 5,000 there. The liberal Christian agenda, as with all other liberal agendas, is formulated around beatific-sounding principles, in this case, inclusion. They seem not to understand that when they include evil, they have destroyed the institution and their inclusiveness falls to nothing.
If the Diocese of San Joaquin affirms the move in a second vote next year, the small diocese, with 48 parishes and 7,000 members, would be the first to try to break from the Episcopal Church, which has been torn by conflict since the consecration of a gay bishop in 2003. Until now, only individual parishes have severed ties.
The vote by the diocese is one more step in a carefully planned strategy by conservative Episcopalians in the United States and primates of Anglican provinces, many in the developing world, to unite the conservatives, claim the mantle of Anglicanism and isolate the Episcopal Church, the 2.3-million-member American branch in the Anglican communion, which claims 77 million members worldwide.
The San Joaquin diocese, which does not ordain women, has long been one of the most conservative of the church’s 110 dioceses. It is among seven dioceses that were so disturbed by the church’s decision to consecrate a gay bishop that they have refused to accept the authority of the church and its presiding bishop. They have also appealed for “alternative oversight” to the Archbishop of Canterbury, who as head of the Church of England is considered the “first among equals” among the Anglican primates.
“This is the separation,” said Craig Petz, a lay delegate to the diocese’s convention in Fresno, Calif., where the vote took place. “It’s done. There’s no equivocating.”
Mr. Petz, from St. Mary’s Church in Manteca, Calif., said he was delighted by the resolutions, but an active caucus of clergy members and laity who strongly oppose separation from the church were despondent.
Laurie Goodstein and Carlyn Marshall
7,000 here, 5,000 there. The liberal Christian agenda, as with all other liberal agendas, is formulated around beatific-sounding principles, in this case, inclusion. They seem not to understand that when they include evil, they have destroyed the institution and their inclusiveness falls to nothing.
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