This just in from VirtueOnline: “CHARISMATIC EPISCOPAL CHURCH SPLITS”. In today’s digest, a priest leaving the CEC is quoted in the story as leaving for Western Rite Orthodoxy. Click here for the story or see below for the text.
CHARISMATIC EPISCOPAL CHURCH SPLITS. More news. In my last VIEWPOINTS I said the schism in the CEC had resulted in many leaving and going to Rome. A priest who is leaving the CEC himself wrote to say that many of those leaving have gone to Western Rite Orthodoxy, but the most common destination has been for AMiA, CANA and the Anglican Province of America (APA).”Individuals have indeed gone to Rome, but parishes cannot do so. Thus, considering parishes are moving toward Anglican jurisdictions. It is much more accurate to describe the movement as toward Anglicans, including myself. Many former CEC priests have chosen to affiliate with AMiA and are busy planting parishes. Not a few parishes have also chosen to affiliate with AMiA. Lately, others have begun to affiliate with CANA. Eventually, however, it seems likely that a large number of former CEC clergy and parishes are in conversation with APA-REC. In the end, this may result in the largest single quorum of all.” The source told VOL that the total number of parishes being planted by former CEC priests added to the parishes that have/are joining with Anglican bodies could total well over 30 Anglican parishes, when all the dust settles.
6 comments
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October 27, 2007 at 4:12 am
jzhnutz
people who just leave act cowardly
October 27, 2007 at 12:31 pm
cechealing
jzhnutz-
I don’t agree. However, I’d take your perspective any day if you just left it at that. Others like to go the “extra mile” and demonize people for leaving the one true “Church”.
CEC Bishops (and Episcopal Church Bishops for that matter) and their reaction to depose clergy out of hand isn’t cowardly as it is just plain childish. It’s to just have the last word, I guess.
October 28, 2007 at 7:12 pm
jef51
jzhnutz,
It’s all too easy to just call everyone who left a coward. Look at the “cowardly” company – Sly, Lipka, Zampino, Fick, Myers, Miles, Painter. You were not there when they tried to save something that they had poured their hearts and souls into for over a decade. In the end, they made a stand for their principles and kept their integrity. Not cowardly acts, definitely not cowardly men. I might suggest that the ones who stayed, allowing themselves to be manipulated and spun, in the end, displayed a lack of courage to stand for what is right.
October 29, 2007 at 4:41 pm
swede1
I’m sorry. I wasn’t going to comment further but you know, this kind of thing is exactly why there are so many divisions within the church universal. Please, stop the name calling. Whether you think that actions are cowardly or not, voicing that is so much more hurtful than the actions themselves. And, further, if you are offended by comments, then commenting back only makes it worse. In the comments above, we have one person calling those who left cowards, and another (a little less directly) calling those who stayed cowards. What is the point of this? THIS is what causes strife. THIS is what is ugly about Christianity. THIS is why other religions laugh at Christians.
Before you comment, or respond to a comment, ask yourself what you want to project about yourself and about your belief. Regardless of what your view is, if you are a Christian, then imagine how you would react if you were a witness to the dialog. What would you be thinking of the persons posting if you were observing this? Then ask yourself if you want to be part of the problem or part of the solution. Healthy dialog is important; name calling is childish.
October 29, 2007 at 4:45 pm
papaz
Merely calling someone who leaves “cowardly” without exploring the whys and the wherefores is plain wrong. Continuing to sling mud at those who have left is inappropriate at best. Without a doubt, there were (and continue to be, I’m sure) those who leave in an inappropriate manner. But in my experience, said inappropriate departures have been wildly exaggerated — in some cases by CEC bishops themselves, in order to justify to their flock what happened.
And let’s be honest here, and look at the numbers. 2006 saw the loss of 8 bishops. Dozens of other clergy. Hundreds if not thousands of laity. The CEC is only admitting to about 4,000 faithful in the entire US right now — and that was before the departure of Fr. Joe Butler and half his congregation, and before the most recent debacle in San Clemente. At one point, the CEC was claiming around 100,000 US members. By that tally, 96% of the church has left. 96%! Hardly the few “cowards” the remnants of the CEC would like to claim.
2006 is when much of the ugliness went public. But if you were clergy in one of the more dysfunctional dioceses (as I was) the handwriting had been on the wall for years. In my former diocese, I can count two dozen — TWO DOZEN — members of the clergy who had left the CEC — PRIOR to the 2006 chaos. Some left badly, but certainly not all.
In many, many cases, persons who have left the CEC have NOT been “Johnny-Come-Latelys” but persons who poured their hearts and souls into a church for years — many for more than a decade. HARDLY the “they were never one of us anyhow” mantra that the CEC leadership still chants.
October 29, 2007 at 11:32 pm
xcecdeacon
Pretty typical of those involved in a cult to blindly cast aspersion on all others that have “seen the light” and bolted. Cowards ye say…well it was a whole lot scarier for me to leave not knowing where I would land, than it would have been to simply stay in the blissful and sweet cocoon of denial.
+
I take exception with one of the other posters here as well in that if we were all to stop making comments, no one would say a thing. Kind of Nirvana for you, eh?
Well, that is what makes us human I suppose, (at least those of us still commenting that know we are only too human) and we will continue to have opinions and comments until our dying day.
Only those who pretend to be “holier than thou” would think otherwise.
And THAT is my comment…