Posted on 05/22/2006 8:29:48 AM PDT by fgoodwin
Bishop James Mote, 84, led split over Episcopal women's ordination
http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/news/1148200753107070.xml&coll=2 http://tinyurl.com/kdvv7
Sunday, May 21, 2006 From wire reports
Indianapolis- Bishop James Mote, who made national headlines in 1977 when he led his Denver congregation out of the Episcopal Church after it began ordaining women, died April 29.
He was 84 and had been in a nursing home in Indianapolis, his hometown.
Mote's battle with his former bishop, William Frey, leader of the Colorado Episcopal diocese, went on for months because Frey didn't want the congregation to leave.
When St. Mary's Church, which Mote headed, met to vote on secession in 1977, only members were allowed in, and that excluded Frey.
Two-thirds voted to follow Mote, and the other third moved to another location for worship.
Last week, Frey called Mote "a great pastor," but he recalled the secession time as "painful" for the entire diocese.
The secession led to a nearly 10-year property battle between St. Mary's and the Colorado diocese that went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In 1986, the court refused to hear the case, letting stand an earlier ruling that gave the property to the diocese.
The diocese leased the building back to the congregation for $1 a year for 10 years, after which the property was sold to St. Mary's for about $100,000.
Mote, beloved by many and disliked by others in his congregation, went on to become a bishop in a breakaway church, the Anglican Catholic Church.
He steadfastly maintained that the new denomination wasn't a breakaway but rather the true Episcopal Church that stood fast with longtime beliefs of the denomination.
Dozens of other congregations, and their several hundred members across the country, agreed with him and seceded.
Sorry, I just could NOT resist that.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.