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State's Largest Episcopal Church Abandons National Leadership
March 26, 2007 4:41 PM
The split in the Episcopal church in America has erupted in Colorado Springs. This morning the vestry, or board of directors, of states largest Episcopal church, Grace Episcopal and St. Stephens parish in Colorado Springs announced that it is severing its ties with The Episcopal church in America. Instead it will affiliate with the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America, or CANA, led by Nigerian Bishop Peter Akinola.
KRCC NEWS DIRECTOR ERIC WHITNEY: Episcopal churches around the world have been splitting since 2003, when the church in America began ordaining gay clergy and blessing same sex marriages.
John Wroblewski is the senior warden at Grace Episcopal in Colorado Springs. He says gay issues are not the sole reason his church is choosing to separate from the larger Episcopal church in America.
WROBLEWSKI: No, thats just a symptom of a larger problem. The larger problem is the unwillingness to put scripture first, and to say that that is the final authority. Now if you do not put scripture first and you do not see the Bible and the scripture as the final authority then that allows you to make all kinds of moral relativistic decisions about what's right and what's wrong. At that point everything becomes in play and the traditionalists obviously don't want that, and we feel that there are a lot of issues that are then spawned that become very problematic. And the ordination of gays into the ministry and the blessing of same sex marriages for instance is just one of those issues.
WHITNEY: Grace Episcopal has been at odds with the Episcopal diocese of Colorado for some time now, and not just over issues of faith. The state body suspended Reverend Don Armstrong, Grace's rector, for allegedly misappropriating church funds. Some parishioners have protested that decision. Wroblewski says this morning's vote to leave the American church has nothing to do with that.
WROBLEWSKI: No, this is not about Don Armstrong, although that's once again a symptom of a larger problem. He takes a different view and has been very outspoken in his conservative traditional beliefs and that is at direct odds with our bishop. It's very difficult to opperate when you're at odds with your own bishop in your diocese. This is an issue too that has spread throughout the entire Episcopal church, and a lot of parishes all over the country are dealing with this issue.
WHITNEY: Grace's decision to leave the epsicopal church is not yet final, as the congregation has yet to formally weigh in. Wroblewski says that will come after 40 days of prayerful reflection, but he expects most of the congregation to agree to affiliate with the more conservative CANA. He said the vestry would not have voted the way it did if it did not believe it was in synch with its parishoners.
CANA leader, Bishop Anikola of Nigera has come under criticism for advocating the passage of law in his native Nigeria that would jail people who commit homosexual acts. I asked ROBE-leski if his parish has any qualms about affiliating with Akinola.
WROBLESKI: Well, I prefer to just wait. I'm sure that's an issue that we need to address and will but I'm basically concerned with the running of our local church here, not international issues, and we will be looking into that, and certainly comment on that in the future.
Posted by Matthias Barker on March 26, 2007 4:41 PM | Permalink
