Posted on 01/18/2008 4:13:48 AM PST by Huber
[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church's Title IV Review Committee has certified that Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan has abandoned the communion of the church.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informed Duncan on January 15 of the certification and sent him a copy.
Her letter told Duncan that she sought the canonically required permission from the House's three senior bishops with jurisdiction to inhibit him, based on the certification, from the performance of any episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts.
"On 11 January 2008 they informed me that such consents would not be given at this time by all three bishops," Jefferts Schori wrote.
"Pursuant to the time limits stated in Canon IV.9, the matter will not come before the House of Bishops at its next scheduled meeting in March 2008, but will come before the House at the next meeting thereafter," the Presiding Bishop wrote in her letter.
"I would, however, welcome a statement by you within the next two months providing evidence that you once more consider yourself fully subject to the doctrine, discipline and worship of this Church," Jefferts Schori wrote in her letter to Duncan.
The three senior bishops with jurisdiction -- Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, Peter Lee of Virginia, and Don Wimberly of Texas -- did give their permission on January 11 for Jefferts Schori to inhibit Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield in another case where the Title IV Review Committee certified an abandonment of the communion of the church. The House will consider the case matter involving Schofield in March.
The time limit to which Jefferts Schori referred is a two-month period afforded to bishops subject to such a certification to retract their acts, demonstrate that the facts alleged in certification are false, or renounce their orders by way of Title IV, Canon 8, Sec. 2 or Title III, Canon 12, Sec. 7.
The Title IV Review Committee told Jefferts Schori on December 17 that a majority of its nine members agreed that Duncan had abandoned the communion of the church "by an open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline or Worship of this Church."
The Review Committee's certification from Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, committee chair, said that the committee received submissions alleging Duncan's abandonment of communion from "counsel representing individuals who are either clergy or communicants in the Diocese of Pittsburgh" and from the Presiding Bishop's chancellor, David Beers, and his colleague, Mary E. Kostel. They asked the Review Committee for a determination.
Some 40 pages of material submitted by Pittsburgh counsel, which allegedly "trace the course of Bishop Duncan's actions from the meeting of the General Convention in 2003 through the most recent Annual Convention of the Diocese" in early November, is included in the committee's certification and is available here.
Pittsburgh's diocesan convention November 2 gave the first of two approvals needed to enact a constitutional change to remove language in the diocesan constitution stating that the diocese accedes to the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons as the church's constitution requires.
The Presiding Bishop sent Duncan a letter prior to the convention, asking him to retreat from his advocacy of the changes.
The first section of Title IV, Canon 9 says that a bishop abandons the communion of the Episcopal Church if he or she takes one of the following actions:
* "open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline, or Worship of the Church;" * "formal admission into any religious body not in communion with the same;" or * "exercising episcopal acts [which include primarily Holy Orders and Confirmation] in and for a religious body other than the Episcopal Church or another Church in communion with the Church so as to extend to such body Holy Orders as this Church holds them, or to administer on behalf of such religious body Confirmation without the express consent and commission of the proper authority in this Church."
In addition to Henderson, the 2007-2009 Title IV Review Committee includes Bishop Suffragan David C. Jones of Virginia, Bishop C. Wallis Ohl Jr. of Northwest Texas, Bishop Suffragan Bavi E. Rivera of Olympia, Bishop James Waggoner of Spokane, the Rev. Carolyn Kuhr of Montana, the Very Rev. Scott Kirby of Eau Claire, J.P. Causey Jr. of Virginia, and Deborah J. Stokes of Southern Ohio.
-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an Episcopal Life Media correspondent.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Bishop Duncan should be honored by the recognition. TEC tolerates Pike and Spong and ejects the orthodox. I think there may be a message here .... just guessing....
A sensible attitude. Let the dead bury their dead.
Good on Duncan though!
Can some one explain to me briefly and in plain English what is going on here and what did Duncan do and what are they doing about it.
Is this an excommunication?
Leni
My thought exactly.
So now the national Church is saying,"You tried to quit, but you can't quit, you're fired!" and that means that the national church is saying Duncan can't do any bishop-y or priestly things, once he is "inhibited".
Then they get to fight over property. It's like a divorce but without the fun parts.
:-(
Oh, thank you, MinuteGal. I scanned pretty thoroughly through the entire article, too, and came out with NOTHING. Many buzz words, nothing that makes any sense to a lay person.
But I see from the comments that he was tossed out for holding to orthodoxy. “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
PITTSBURGH: Attempted Coup to Unseat Bishop Fails
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
1/15/2008
An attempted coup by US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, her attorney David Booth Beers, and liberal parish priest Harold Lewis to unseat Bishop Robert Duncan, the Bishop of Pittsburgh, failed recently when three canonically required senior bishops refused to sign inhibition papers that would have prevented him from functioning as a bishop.
The back room attempts to fast track and inhibit the evangelical catholic bishop, saying that he had abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church, had all the makings of Tammany Hall politics. It all fell apart when bishops Leo Frade of Southeast Florida, Peter Lee of Virginia, and Don Wimberly of Texas refused to go along with the public lynching. (It is not known at this time how many of the three bishops did not give consent).
The charges that Bishop Duncan has abandoned the communion simply do not hold up. When he heard the news Duncan said, "Few bishops have been more loyal to the doctrine, discipline and worship of The Episcopal Church. I have not abandoned the Communion of this Church. I will continue to serve and minister as the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh."
The Title IV Review Committee acted with alacrity to give Mrs. Jefferts Schori what she wanted, drawing up a 41-page brief in near record time. By contrast, it took the Title IV Review Committee almost a year to inhibit revisionist Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison for conduct unbecoming a priest with charges that included his failure to stop his brother from having sexual relations with a 14-year old girl - a minor.
The news, along with a copy of the allegations made by the chancellor to the Presiding Bishop against Bishop Duncan, and the Title IV Review Committee's decision to certify that Duncan "had abandoned the communion of this church," came in a letter from Mrs. Jefferts Schori late in the day on January 15. In a letter to Duncan, Mrs. Jefferts Schori said she sought the canonically required permission from the House's three senior bishops with jurisdiction to inhibit him, based on the certification, and from the performance of any episcopal, ministerial or canonical acts.
Mrs. Jefferts Schori said she was very "sorry" she was not able to inhibit Duncan, even though she asked them to do it. She was forced to inhibit Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison for his egregious behavior." On 11 January 2008 they informed me that such consents would not be given at this time by all three bishops," Mrs. Jefferts Schori wrote.
"Pursuant to the time limits stated in Canon IV.9, the matter will not come before the House of Bishops at its next scheduled meeting in March 2008, but will come before the House at the next meeting thereafter," the Presiding Bishop wrote in her letter.
"I would, however, welcome a statement by you within the next two months providing evidence that you once more consider yourself fully subject to the doctrine, discipline and worship of this Church," Mrs. Jefferts Schori wrote in her letter to Duncan.
Earlier, on December 19, The Title IV Review Committee told Mrs. Jefferts Schori that a majority of its nine members agreed that Duncan had abandoned the communion of the church "by an open renunciation of the Doctrine, Discipline or Worship of this Church."
The Review Committee, led by Upper South Carolina Bishop Dorsey Henderson, the committee chair, said that the committee received submissions alleging Duncan's abandonment of communion from "counsel representing individuals who are either clergy or communicants in the Diocese of Pittsburgh" and from the Presiding Bishop's chancellor, David Beers, and his colleague, Mary E. Kostel. They asked the Review Committee for a determination. This included the Rev. Harold Lewis of Calvary Episcopal Church who has tried several times to unseat Duncan through the civil courts.
Some 41 pages of material submitted by Pittsburgh counsel, which allegedly "trace the course of Bishop Duncan's actions from the meeting of the General Convention in 2003 through the most recent Annual Convention of the Diocese" in early November, were included in the committee's certification. It should be noted however, that these pages are a combination of Beers and the attorney for the Rev. Harold Lewis. Pittsburgh's diocesan convention, held on November 2, gave the first of two approvals needed to enact constitutional changes to remove language in the diocesan constitution stating that the diocese accedes to the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons as the church's constitution requires.
The Presiding Bishop sent Duncan a letter prior to the convention, asking him to retreat from his advocacy of the changes.
The following is a copy of Schori's letter to Duncan http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/PBLetterToDuncan.pdf
The following is Bishop Duncan's correspondence and confidential documents from the Title IV Review Committee http://www.episcopalchurch.org/documents/DuncanCert.pdf"
Pardon my butting in, but given I am Anglican, I can say that the gist of the article is that —Kathy tried to fire +Robert, but three bishops she hired to nail him refused to pull the trigger. So, she can’t fire him. He has effectively quit, but she can’t stop him being a full bishop in or out of TEC.
(Former pepsicola priest here.....)
Try taking Orthodoxy 101 instead!
If there is a Western Rite Orthodox parish near you (which there usually isn’t), you will feel right at home in the liturgy immediately. For the Eastern Rite, you will need to attend several liturgies and ask your Orthodoxy 101 priest (and the faitful of the parish) a LOT of questions. You should ask lots of questions in a Western Rite parish as well.
But the main reason to become Orthodox or Roman Catholic is not because TEC is so bad (which it is). The main reason is that you believe that Orthodoxy or Roman Catholicism represents the fullness of the Church, and that that is where God wants you to be.
I LOVE being Catholic and find here the fulfillment of everything Anglicanism promised (except beauty, but even some of that in my current parish.) I've also found joys beyond my prior imagining.
Duncan dragged his feet long enough. If he had acted decisively when he should have, he’d be free of the mess.
I doubt that Lee had the courage to stand up to Beers on this. His reprehensible and cowardly acts with regard to the Anglican parishes in Virginia would tend to indicate that he doesn't have it in him.
Yes, Cleopatra is sending forth David Booth Beers, her litigious asp, to strike with venom into the bloodstream of the body of Christ.
She will have had her reward.
I share your concerns about Rome, along with the RC’s (and the EO’s too) muddled understanding of salvation by grace alone... (infused righteousness, vs. imputed righteousness necessarily accompanied by a life of sanctification). I know Church history pretty well too, and the Roman church still has a heck of a lot of baggage.
Look to where +Duncan and many others are going—the various groups labeled “Anglican”—technically under the oversight of foreign bishops (with US bishops too), which will, sooner or later, be joined together into one province in North America.
Also, if you consider yourself Anglo-Catholic, the “continuing Anglican” churches are an option. All the groups known as “Anglican” in the USA are solidly orthodox in the traditional sense.
The Anglican witness in America is not dying, rather it is undergoing real reformation, and, though leaving TEC, is actually growing.
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