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On May 14, 2004 Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh sent a letter to the Episcopal Bishop of Pittsburgh, urging him to uphold the order of the church as set out in its constitution and canons. The letter is a response to Bishop Duncan’s having authorized the Rt. Rev. Daniel Cox, a retired bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, to celebrate the Eucharist and perform confirmations at St. Michael’s of the Valley Episcopal Church in Ligonier, Pa., on May 9, 2004. The Reformed Episcopal Church broke away from the Episcopal Church in the nineteenth century. The 14,000 member body is not part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Bishop Duncan, former Vice President of the conservative American Anglican Council and Moderator of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, has been vocal in his objections to the Episcopal Church’s consecration of openly gay V. Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. “We have now seen a new kind of violation of church law from conservative schismatics in the Episcopal Church,” said PEP President Lionel Deimel. Referring to the secretly planned March 14 service near Akron, Ohio in which six bishops, including five retired Episcopal bishops, performed confirmations without permission of the Bishop of Ohio, Deimel continued, “In March, we saw confirmations by bishops of the Episcopal Church in circumstances unapproved by the bishop with jurisdiction. Now we see confirmations approved by the bishop with jurisdiction, but by a bishop not allowed by the canons to act within and on behalf of the Episcopal Church.” Christopher Wilkins, PEP Vice President for Operations, commenting on the Cox visit to St. Michael’s of the Valley, said, “We find it sad and ironic that people who accuse the church of violating its own faith and order themselves violate, with apparent impunity, that same faith and order whenever it suits them.” The letter to Bishop Duncan is reproduced below: The Rt. Rev. Robert William Duncan May 13, 2004 Dear Bishop Duncan: Greetings in this blessed season of Easter. It is our understanding that, because neither you nor Bishop Scriven was able to make the episcopal visit to St. Michael’s of the Valley, Ligonier, scheduled for May 9, 2004, you authorized Bishop Daniel Cox—at the suggestion of St. Michael’s’ rector, the Rev. Jim Simons—to serve in your stead. We have confirmed that Bishop Cox was present at St. Michael’s on May 9, preached at both services, served as chief celebrant for the Eucharist at the 10:30 am service, and confirmed about a dozen people. We know that you are aware that Bishop Cox is a retired bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. Since its formation in 1873, that church has never been in communion with the Episcopal Church, a fact confirmed for us by Bishop C. Christopher Epting, the Presiding Bishop’s Deputy Officer of Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations. As you must know from General Convention 2003, there is even ambiguity as to whether bishops from that church are in apostolic succession. While we might all desire to see a time in which our churches are in full communion, we must recognize that this is not such a time. None of us, therefore, should act as though the differences between these two churches do not exist or no longer matter, even if we have the noblest pastoral intent in so doing. Sunday was apparently not the first time you have allowed clergy from the Reformed Episcopal Church to act in ways reserved by our constitution and canons to clergy of the Episcopal Church. In fact, the rector of St. Michael’s of the Valley has confirmed that his assistant priest, the Rev. Tim Couch, has been licensed by you to act as a priest in our diocese, despite his being a priest in good standing of the Reformed Episcopal Church and his never having been received into the Episcopal Church and having made the prescribed declaration. This pattern is troubling to us and to others in our church. We hope that your concern in authorizing the visit of Bishop Cox was primarily pastoral. However, given that the House of Bishops has nearly 300 members in good standing, surely you could have found someone from that body who could have served in your place at St. Michael’s on Sunday. It is sad to us that you appear to be showing more concern for communion with bishops outside our church, even outside the Anglican Communion, than for communion with your fellow members of the House of Bishops. It is our understanding that allowing Bishop Cox to officiate at St. Michael’s is contrary to the constitution and canons of this church and represents a failure on your part to conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church. Article VIII of the constitution of the Episcopal Church expressly forbids anyone ordained by a Bishop not in communion with this church from serving as a minister in it until that person has complied with the canons, including subscribing the declaration signed at ordination. Performing a confirmation rite or acting as chief celebrant at the Eucharist is certainly acting as a minister. General Convention, working through its Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, determines which churches are in communion with the Episcopal Church, not individual bishops. Your decision to allow Bishop Cox to substitute for you at St. Michael’s of the Valley substitutes one man’s judgment for that of the entire church. It also puts the parish’s rector, wardens, and vestry in violation of church law. The rector’s suggestion on this matter called more for rebuke than acquiescence. We call on you to acknowledge publicly that clergy of the Reformed Episcopal Church are not permitted to act as if they were Episcopal Church clergy. Additionally, we ask you to declare your intention henceforth to respect the judgments, understandings, and discipline of the Episcopal Church, particularly concerning matters of episcopal actions, communion, and ministry. We believe that your actions demonstrate a pattern of continuing indifference to the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church, and that your support of others showing similar disrespect for the order of the church are unworthy of a bishop or other minister. We ask, in all charity, that you henceforth respect and conform to the doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church, as is required of all ministers. Yours in Christ, Lionel E. Deimel, President of Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh cc: |