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One down, five to go. At 9:30 a.m. on July 13 liberal Episcopal bishop Andrew Smith of Connecticut, several of his administrators, a pro-gay feminist priest, a locksmith, and a computer technician swooped into conservative, 200-congregant St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol, Conn. They pried open the locked pastor's office, confiscated pastoral and church records, took down the church's website and redirected traffic to the diocese's website, changed the locks on all the doors, and announced to protesting church leaders and members that the diocese had taken over St. John's. Bishop Smith said he had suspended Rev. Mark Hansen from...

News Analysis By David W. Virtue Slowly but surely the noose of orthodoxy is tightening around the neck of the revisionist Episcopal Church, its dioceses and bishops. Consider the following. Nine bishops have weighed in on Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith and told him in no uncertain terms that they will intervene in the case of the "Connecticut Six" and lay a presentment on him if he does not withdraw the inhibition against Fr. Mark Hansen. "We would prefer to find some way other than this deepening battle, but we refuse to allow this recent aggression to go unchecked or unchallenged,"...

Bishop Andrew D. Smith’s offer of an olive branch to the members of Christ and the Epiphany, East Haven, one of six Connecticut parishes that have rebuffed his Episcopal authority, had no takers on July 24, the parish's rector, the Rev. Gilbert V. Wilkes, told The Living Church. Bishop Smith cited his visit to the parish as an example of his good faith adherence to the House of Bishops’ Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) guidelines in a July 28 letter to nine bishops who objected to his conduct over the discipline of the Rev. Mark Hansen, rector of St John’s,...

(AgapePress) - A spokesman for an Episcopal church in Connecticut that was forcibly seized by its liberal bishop because of its opposition to homosexuality says members of the congregation want their building and property back. Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith recently made an unannounced visit to St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol and suspended its orthodox priest, replacing him with a pro-homosexuality female priest. With the help of 12 assistants, Bishop Smith dismantled the church's website, hacked into its computers, and gained access to financial records. Dr. William Witt, a spokesman for the vestry, says members of St. John's are doing...

Nineteen Episcopal lay leaders and priests in Connecticut have officially charged Andrew Smith, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, under provisions of canon [church] law. The notification of charges was sent Monday to Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA). Specifically, signatories charge Bishop Smith with undermining the structure of the Episcopal Church and denying canonical due process for the so-called “Connecticut Six” clergy. These charges accuse Bishop Smith of violating the Episcopal Church’s Constitution, national canons, diocesan canons, and the laws of the state of Connecticut. Laity and clergy from Christ Church, Watertown; Bishop Seabury,...