Diocese to vote on withdrawal

The history of organized religion can be characterized as a constant tug of war between progressive interests and orthodoxy.

Today, many churches are confronting hot-button issues, such as gay unions, equal rights, abortion and stem-cell research. The question of homosexuality -- and the degree to which it can be accepted and accommodated by the faithful -- is perhaps the most divisive. It is literally dividing church institutions, causing fractures and even schism among Catholics, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Episcopalians.

Some wish to contextualize the injunction made in Leviticus 18:22: "You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." Others say there is no room for interpretation.

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina has for years objected loudly to what it considers liberalizing trends in the Episcopal Church, and now has proposed to begin the process of breaking away from the national church body. It is doing so not only because the Episcopal

Church ordained in 2003 an openly gay bishop, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, but for a variety of reasons, most of which are theological in nature, many diocese officials repeatedly have said.

In mid-September, the diocese's standing committee and deans, under the leadership of Bishop Mark Lawrence, published five resolutions to be voted on at a special diocesan convention scheduled for Oct. 24 at Christ Church in Mount Pleasant. The meeting was called in response to the Episcopal Church's General Convention in Anaheim, Calif., in July, during which bishops and delegates decided overwhelmingly that gays and lesbians in committed relationships were eligible for "any ordained ministry" and that gay unions were not inconsistent with the principles of the church.

Since "the governing bodies of The Episcopal Church have failed to operate within the boundaries of its canons and continued participation in such behavior would make the Diocese of South Carolina complicit in this dysfunction, be it resolved that this Diocese authorize the Bishop and Standing Committee to begin withdrawing from all bodies of The Episcopal Church that have assented to actions contrary to Holy Scripture, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ as this Church has received them," the diocese's Resolution No. 2 states.

Resolution No. 3 expresses the diocese's desire "to be a source of encouragement and resource for equipping the faithful who feel isolated in other parts of The Episcopal Church," and resolves to "form Missional Relationships providing gatherings for Bishops, clergy and laity" and encourage parishes in the diocese to forge relationships with other orthodox congregations nationwide.

Resolution No. 4 endorses the proposed Anglican Covenant, a formal expression of unity among the "orthodox" that could, if adopted, define what Archbishop Rowan Williams called one of two Anglican "tracks."

If the assembly votes in favor of these resolutions, it will be a “protest of conscience,” and a pullback from the national church, but not a full disassociation, Lawrence said.

Four dioceses have severed ties to the Episcopal Church so far — San Joaquin, Calif.; Quincy, Ill.; Pittsburgh; and Fort Worth, Texas. Technically, a"diocese" remains in place, and those who do not wish to leave the national church may remain part of it; it is the individuals who break away.

The move likely would trigger confrontations between members of the diocese and church officials over property. Recent court decisions sometimes have favored the national church, which claims that all property is held in trust by dioceses and parishes, and sometimes have favored individual parishes.

Last month, in a decision that could have broad implications for future property disputes, especially in the state, the S.C. Supreme Court unanimously ruled that All Saints Church on Pawleys Island belonged to the independent corporation All Saints Parish, Waccamaw Inc., and not to the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, which had staked a claim to the property. The court's decision was based on a narrow examination of property deeds and corporate status.

Social issues and alternate theologies always have challenged religious orthodoxy. The church, part of the material world, must find a way to reconcile its interests with the realities of science and society if it is to remain a vibrant force among the faithful.

On the other hand, a church tethered to pillars of prescribed orthodoxy risks becoming unmoored and confused in its beliefs if it permits popular forces to influence it too much. So goes the thinking. Thus, parts of organized religion change and adapt, leaving some to uphold "tradition."

Members of two local congregations, Grace and St. Stephen's, and several others have indicated they prefer to remain part of the Episcopal Church. The majority of the diocese consists of parishioners who consider themselves relatively conservative, but a significant minority, most of whom are represented by the Episcopal Forum of South Carolina, consider themselves dissenters.

In the U.S., conservatives are a minority of the approximately 2.2 million members of the Episcopal Church. But they say they are part of a global majority that considers the U.S. church to be "walking apart" from the Anglican Communion.

On July 18, soon after the General Convention, Lawrence wrote an open letter to clergy expressing his views. "If blessing same-sex unions is morally wrong now, it will be morally wrong in the future," he wrote. "The problem isn't the speed at which the train is moving down the rail: it is the destination to which it is headed."

The convention's outcome should encourage "steady resolve," he wrote. "We face significant challenges. They are no longer the challenges of tomorrow, they are the challenges of today."

The Rev. Al Zadig, rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, summed up the prevailing attitude at a church gathering. "The world is coming into the church, and the church says, 'Have your way,' and there's nothing left of theology."

Concerns among diocese leaders go far beyond the issue of homosexuality, church officials have said. In a timeline prepared by Ann Hurst Harrington and available online, the "Anglican Communion Crisis" is tracked, beginning in 1966. Included are references to the decision to ordain women in 1976; the heresy charge against Bishop John Spong, a noted liberal who questioned the meaning of the Trinity, Resurrection and other Christian ideas; efforts to reinforce orthodox tenets; the perceived marginalization of church conservatives in the U.S.; the diocese's 2006 request for "alternative primatial oversight"; and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's comments in July that the belief in salvation through an individual's prayer of repentance amounted to heresy.

The Lambeth Commission's 2004 Windsor Report faulted the consecration of gay bishops and blessings of same-sex unions, called for a moratorium on such activities and advocated that Anglican bodies join a universal "covenant" expressing core beliefs. The moratorium was neutralized by the Episcopal Church at its summer convention.

The convention included another electric moment when Schori delivered her opening address. Liberals seemed to understand her words as a call for unity while conservatives expressed shock and dismay.

"The great Western heresy (is) that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God," Jefferts Schori said, sparking a firestorm that consumed not only Episcopalians but many other Christians. It is a caricature to insist "that salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus. ... That individualist focus is a form of idolatry, for it puts me and my words in the place that only God can occupy."

In response to all this, the Diocese of South Carolina, which oversees the lower half of the state, invoked in Resolution No. 1 at the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886, which affirmed that Holy Scriptures contain all things necessary to salvation; the creeds are a sufficient statement of Christian faith; the sacraments of baptism and Holy Communion are essential; and that the church is at once an independent episcopate and agent for Christian unity.

In Resolution No. 5, it also resolved "not to condone prejudice or deny the dignity of any person, including but not limited to, those who believe themselves to be gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered," but to continue to "speak the truth in love as Holy Scripture commends."

That truth now is compelling diocese leaders to advocate, after years of turmoil, a withdrawal from the mother church.

Reach Adam Parker at aparker@postandcourier.com.