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Read Eric Stoutz' commentary below or visit CUF's blog.
Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh splits from US Episcopal Church
“Clergy and lay members of the theologically conservative Pittsburgh diocese voted overwhelmingly Saturday to break from the liberal Episcopal Church, with which it differs on issues ranging from homosexuality to biblical teachings on salvation.”
There’s a lot going on here. For an overview you can read Mike Sullivan’s OSV article on Pittsburgh Episcopal Bishop Robert Duncan and his efforts to bring the Episcopal Church back in line with traditional doctrines. Last month he was removed from his office by the House of Bishops. I guess this is the next step. As a lover of irony, however, I can’t help note a statement from the US Episcopal Church. The AP reports:
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the U.S. church, criticized the vote in a statement, saying, “There is room in this Church for all who desire to be members of it.”
She also said schism is not an “honored tradition within Anglicanism” and is “frequently been seen as a more egregious error than charges of heresy.”
Bishop Schori forgets that Anglicanism is born out of schism, when the Catholic Church of England chose to break with Rome. Schism might not be honored, but it is an Anglican tradition nevertheless. And inclusivity is not unity, no matter how much room there is in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Duncan and his Pittsburgh diocese do seek unity–through the headship of Christ: “The only way to unity is unity in Christ, and the nearer you get to what Christ teaches the nearer you get to each other. The farther you get from what Christ teaches, the farther you get from each other.” |
