COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.-
A service at a breakaway Episcopal parish was disrupted Sunday when a man threw a pie at the pastor, police said.
Marcus Hyde, 18, was released but faces potential misdemeanor charges of harassment, trespassing, criminal mischief and disrupting a lawful assembly, police Sgt. Vince Niski said.
Witnesses told police a man entered a side door of Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Parish during the service and tossed the pie at the Rev. Donald Armstrong III, who ducked.
Parishioners chased the suspect and were holding him in front of the church when officers arrived, police said.
The suspect said he was passing judgment on Armstrong for his fellow parishioners, according to a police report. Hyde declined to comment when reached by phone Sunday night.
The Episcopal Diocese of Colorado late last year had moved to suspend Armstrong while it investigated allegations of financial misconduct. Armstrong has denied wrongdoing.
He returned to Grace Church in March, when church leaders voted to leave the Episcopal Church. The vestry said they were upset over the national church’s liberal theological direction, including its stance on gay relationships.
The diocese has not recognized the split, which has prompted some of the church’s regular attendees to worship at a different chapel.
