Ideological and theological disputes within the Episcopal church have led to the conservative diocese of South Carolina splitting off from the main church, which has ordained gay and lesbian bishops and supports homosexual marriage. Daniel Burke writes for RNS:
The Diocese of South Carolina announced on Wednesday (Oct. 17) that it has disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church, escalating a long-running skirmish and setting the stage to become the fifth diocese to secede from the denomination.
South Carolina said the split was triggered by disciplinary action taken against Bishop Mark Lawrence, its conservative leader. The diocese passed a resolution on Oct. 2 stating that it would immediately secede should the Episcopal Church “discipline, impair, restrict, place on administrative leave, charge, derecognize” or otherwise inhibit the diocese or its leaders.
…In a broad sense, the split was prompted by theological differences over homosexuality. The Episcopal Church has ordained gay and lesbian bishops and voted this summer to allow the blessing of same-sex unions. Lawrence has called such moves “the false gospel of indiscriminate inclusivity.”
…Under Lawrence’s leadership, the South Carolina diocese has legally and theologically distanced itself from the Episcopal Church, removing references to the the national church in civil and church documents and issuing deeds that release the diocese’s and denomination’s claims to parish property.
Spread along the state’s southeast coast, the 29,000-member diocese even declared itself sovereign within the Episcopal Church in 2010. After a July vote to bless same-sex unions, Lawrence and most of the South Carolina delegation left General Convention, the church’s triennial governing body.
On the diocese website, the situation is described as follows. Notice the historical perspective:
Anglicans have been worshiping in South Carolina since its establishment as a British Colony. From the beginning, they have defended and upheld the doctrine, discipline and worship of the faithful generations who came before them. That freedom is now under direct assault.
As a founding Diocese of the Episcopal Church, we have taken steps in recent years to defend our freedom of worship and order of gathering. On Monday of this week (October 15), the Rt. Rev. Mark J. Lawrence (14th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina) was informed by the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church that a disciplinary board had certified that he was guilty of abandonment of the communion of the church – that he had, in effect, by his words and actions, left the church. We believe that these actions of the Episcopal Church are both invalid under the Constitution of the Episcopal Church of this Diocese and violations of rights and freedoms which all Americans hold dear. We emphatically reject them, as well as the attempted restriction upon the ministry of our Bishop.
Frankly the seceding Bishop has a better argument that the Episcopal conference has abandoned the Anglican communion. Communion extends not only in space but also in time. It is the modern Episcopalians who abandoned the traditional Episcopal/Anglican communion.
South Carolina is as always the Cradle of Secession! Good news.
This constant secede and create yet another denomination seems to be a constant things among Protestants. From an Orthodox perspective, it is hard to understand at times. However, I deem the Anglicans had their reasons and I wish them best of luck!
Good for them.
Sebastian, I can understand your perspective, but I think that it’s a good thing. The physical churches are run by sinful humans, not God, so they are inherently corruptible. I approve of this Christian capitalism, which allows for continued renewal.
While I’m not Eastern Orthodox, I recognize that one of the strengths of the eastern denominations is a great deal of local autonomy, which makes hard breaks less necessary.
I just wish Southerners would Come Home. This would change America and benefit the world. White people won’t save the world, capitalism won’t save the world, socialism and communism won’t save the world either.
As a matter of fact, no man made institution or philosophy will save the world; only Christ can do that. He founded a Kingdom and Southerners should be a part of it. Looking out and seeing all you good Southern folk all I can say is, “We sure could use your help!”
A lot of American Episcopal churches have simply shut down forever, due to the attacks on them.
The Catholics were on top of it— and have used the results of the attacks to constant advantage (offering in 2009 the “fast tracks to conversions” hoping to Cash In on what has been done to the Epsicopals.
The SAD thing about the Episcopals is they keep REFUSING to look at the attacks done against them (from Philip Hart and Emmanuel Cellar, Kennedy, etc., opening the South border to benefit only their co-religionists and making historical America, which was clearly a Northern European Protestant country, into a third world catholic country.
Why can’t the Episcopals get out of their DEFENSIVE position for just five freaking minutes?
Instead, they bought the attacks (including actual activists infiltrating their churches) hook, line and sinker— and then just kept trying to prove they are “good” people.
Back in Reality, real activists broke up their churches, people who are probably just atheists, for heaven’s sake!!! It’s as bad as being stupid enough to think the Phelps are a “church,” or Jim Jones, when Phelps was a known civil rights attorney, etc.
The Episcopals proved themselves stupid and unable to see they have enemies. For a people nearly wiped out in south europe by people who hate them, you’d think they would have caught on by now.
And then the pope offers to “fast track” them on “conversion.” LOL.
Let it be a lesson to the Northern European Protestants still standing— and don’t fall for it.
The “gay” issue in their church was not put there by them. It’s exactly like calling people “racist.” “Homophobia” was the equivalent of “racist” in the activist atheist campaign against the Episcopals.
But no one even calls it out.
In just 60 years since Irish Catholic Banker, Emmanuel Cellar, opened the South border to admit his co-religionists— the White catholics in the u.s. have seen the writing on the wall, and clearly do not agree with how they have been used. According to Pew, they have voted with their feet and White catholics in u.s. are the largest loss of a religion anywhere.
Meantime, though, the border was opened and because so many “third world catholics” (including a few rich Spaniards and Irish, lol) were brought and a Welfare state created to pay for it all through tax collection—- America, clearly a Northern European Protestant homeland “for us and our posterity” in the constitution, was transformed from 99% Wasp (literally) to half catholic.
Whether such a shift actually constitutes Genocide (another Genocide by the catholic “church” as they did in europe to northern european protestants)—- is still being discussed by many, probably.
One way around the implications is the argument by the catholic church that “all christians” are affected by their maneuvers. (But Liberation Theology —even normal wikis attribute that anti-anglo group with being generated by the catholics) did not affect everyone the same, (obviously).
It is then said that just as many protestants have left their church. This is not true, and even when it comes close, what Pew shows is that protestants move –yes– but only among their own congregations.
In other words, the Protestants (fleeing things such as the attacked Episcopal church) —- are going to OTHER protestant denominations (not other religions) and finding homes.
Subtextually—- this is probably due to them hoping to find communion among Northern European peoples (excepting the Irish whose anti-angloism has become increasingly well-known to Americans).
When the Protestants “vote with their feet” they are looking for other Northern Europeans, is what this shows (and not anti-anglo northern europeans, of which Irish would be the only ones, really). Nobody else in northern europe really hates the english and germans, the southerners, etc.