A split within the Episcopal Church has begun and is on its way to court -- something akin to "divorce court," it seems.
More than 100 Episcopal parishes -- and some dioceses -- have either left the denomination or requested alternative oversight within the worldwide Anglican Communion. One of them is St. Stephen's Church in Heathsville, Va.
"We left the Episcopal Church because we could no longer be under the leadership of people who have the attitude that they did about the authority of Scripture," said the Rev. Jeffrey Cerar, rector of St. Stephen's. "Starting several years ago, the Episcopal Church elected and put in place a homosexual bishop and did so in disregard of the Scriptures. It was just a symptom of a much larger problem, which is that the leadership of the Episcopal Church does not regard Scripture as authoritative in the same sense that Christians always have before."
He added: "One of the symptoms of the church now is that the new presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, (Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schorri) is saying that Christ is not the only way to salvation -- just a way."
Cerar's church is one of 11 that recently left the Virginia diocese. Bishop Peter Lee, in return, filed suit against each of the 11, seeking to confiscate the church properties -- and has taken steps to defrock 27 clergy associated with those churches.
Cerar said his congregation is now Anglican -- not Episcopalian -- and there's no going back.
"(Bishop Lee) has taken the position that congregations cannot leave the Episcopal Church -- only individuals can," the Rev. Jeffrey Cerar told CitizenLink, "(but) our congregation, as a congregation, took a vote, and by a three-fourths majority, decided in a duly constituted meeting to sever our ties -- and we also voted to keep our property."
The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, president and CEO of the American Anglican Council, accused Bishop Lee of "betraying" and "deceiving" the churches by leading them to believe that they could leave without retribution.
Anderson said the Virginia diocese had been in negotiations with the 11 churches until the bishop suddenly broke off the talks and reneged upon a process Lee had established to reach an amicable separation.
"These actions (by the diocese of Virginia) are shameful and un-Christian," he said. "The bishop's refusal to consider further negotiation appears to be intentionally punitive."
Cerar, by the way, is one of the 21 priests who Bishop Lee declared to be "inhibited." Six others had their credentials revoked.
" 'Inhibited' means that the bishop has said that we have 'abandoned' our communion -- or participation -- with the Episcopal Church," Cerar said. "Therefore, we are prohibited from functioning as ordained clergy for the next six months."
The move hasn't stopped Cerar -- or the others.
"All 21 of us have gotten ourselves recognized by either the Church of Uganda or the Church of Nigeria," he said, "so we are priests of those churches and no longer as priests in the Episcopal Church. It's a very significant thing from the perspective of the Virginia diocese, but it hasn't put me out of business. I'm still functioning as the spiritual leader of this congregation."
The Virginia diocese did not return CitizenLink's phone calls.
Next week, the heads of the Anglican Communion's 38 provinces, known as "Primates," will meet in Tanzania to discuss the possibility of breaking off relations with the American church.
