Bishops of the Anglican Church in the United States have voted to overturn a three-year moratorium on the election of gay bishops. The decision seems likely to lead to the Episcopal Church's eventual exit from the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Communion has been fighting to avoid disintegration since the Episcopal Church consecrated the openly gay bishop Gene Robinson in 2003. The decision is expected to be confirmed in the next few days.
The election of the Bishop of New Hampshire, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson, created an apparently irreconcilable rift between liberal and traditional Anglicans. Liberals believe the Bible should be reinterpreted in the light of contemporary wisdom. Traditionalists insist that it unequivocally outlaws homosexuality.
To avoid expulsion from the Communion, the Episcopal Church agreed a temporary ban on the ordination of gay bishops. But, impatient for change, its General Convention meeting in Anaheim, California, voted on Monday to end the moratorium.
The Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams - who is head of the 70-million-strong worldwide Anglican Communion - said it "remained to be seen" whether the vote by the House of Deputies - made up of clergy and lay people - would be endorsed by the US Episcopal House of Bishops.
"I regret the fact that there is no will to observe the moratorium in such a significant part of the church in North America," he added.
The BBC's religious affairs correspondent Robert Piggot said the drafters of the motion say it still leaves room for dioceses to exercise restraint, and keep in effect to a moratorium. But, he said, if it does lead to the election of another gay bishop, the decision will make it all but impossible for the Communion to stay intact.
The crisis could intensify further as the Episcopal Church could be about to end a second moratorium, on the blessing of same-sex relationships in church services.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/8149248.stm
Too Faced
If churches focused on Jesus' command to love your neighbor with even half the energy they waste on issues like this, there'd be peace in the world.
1Not sure about the world peace part, Steph, but the world would certainly be a MUCH nicer place!
2Some days it just feels good to be agnostic.
3If people commenting about Christianity had even remotely as much zeal to understand as they do to criticize, perhaps God's will on earth could come closer to fruition.
4That reminds me of my favorite Kurt Vonnegut quote:
5"She was a fool, and so am I, and so is anyone who thinks he sees what God is doing."
I'm afraid that with understanding, more criticism will inevitably come.
6It a positive move.
7***************
"I will marshal all the forces of darkness to hound you to an assisted suicide." - In the Loop
i have to admit that i like Stephley's opinion
8Yes it does, Jessie.
9Anything for the sake of inclusivity.
10Well...if you look at this monetarily it is pretty significant. Those that break from the traditional Episcopal Church will find themselves evicted. Yep. Even if those in that congregation donated to buy and build the site & then vote to leave the traditional church--most of those buildings are technically owned by the Anglican Church. They may leave to follow their own beliefs but not with that building. When you toss money into this dilemma it will get nasty.
11That's the way it is with most religious organizations. The buildings are part of the higher church. In 2003, when the ELCA first began discussing their stance on homosexuality, several churches voted to leave, and were promptly evicted from their buildings. It wasn't pretty.
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