DENVER-
Leaders of the state’s largest Episcopalian parish voted Monday to leave the denomination because of the fallout from the church’s acceptance of gays and instead join a conservative Anglican church based in Nigeria. But the Colorado bishop rejected the move and said the Colorado Springs parish would remain part of the Episcopal Church.
Following the vote, Bishop Robert O’Neill said he dismissed the leadership of Grace Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Parish to protect the assets of the church. Members who want to remain will be provided pastoral care.
“The fact is people may leave the Episcopal Church but parishes cannot,” O’Neill said in a statement.
The church’s longtime rector, the Rev. Donald Armstrong III, who was suspended for allegedly mishandling funds, said O’Neill no longer has jurisdiction over the parish.
“He doesn’t have an army. The courts will not interfere in an internal church dispute and the congregation is solidly behind us,” Armstrong said.
Beckett Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Colorado diocese, said church law states that all parish property and assets are held in trust for the diocese. She declined to comment on Armstrong’s reaction.
The leaders of Grace and St. Stephen’s voted to join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a missionary diocese of the Church of Nigeria led by Archbishop Peter J. Akinola. It’s the latest of several U.S. churches to leave the Episcopal Church over ideological differences, mainly the church’s acceptance of homosexuality.
Parish leaders cited the handling of Armstrong’s suspension, along with the denomination’s rejection of the “historic faith,” as reasons for the vote.
In a statement, they said the Colorado bishop was intent on defrocking Armstrong, a critic of gay ordination, and created a “kangaroo court” denying him a fair hearing.
Senior warden Jon Wroblewski said the parish had fought for a return to orthodoxy within the denomination but has lost hope in reform.
“It’s clear that The Episcopal Church no longer believes in the historic, orthodox Christian faith common to all believers. It’s also clear that purported Episcopal values of ‘inclusion’ do not apply to orthodox believers,” Wroblewski said in the statement.
Parishoner Alan Crippen said the main issue is that the Episcopal Church has been moving away from the worldwide Anglican Communion. He pointed to the church’s rejection of a plan for leaders outside the U.S. to oversee dissenting, conservative American dioceses.
“If the Episcopal Church is walking away from the Anglican Communion, we’re not going to go with them,” Crippen said.
