Anglican/Episcopalian Parish Splits From Church
Pastor Dale Morgan
Anglican/Episcopalian Parish Splits From National Church*
May 31, 2007
By ELIZABETH HAMILTON, Courant Staff Writer
Trinity Episcopal Church in Bristol - one of six churches at odds with
Bishop Andrew Smith over his vote to ordain a gay bishop - has become
the first Connecticut parish to split from the wider Episcopal Church.
Members of the Bristol congregation voted overwhelmingly in January to
join the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a self-described
mission of the conservative Anglican Church of Nigeria, but an
application was not made until late April.
Trinity's formal announcement of the split was made on Sunday -
Pentecost Sunday, which celebrates the birth of the Christian church.
Two other Episcopal churches - Christ the King Anglican Church in St
Augustine, Fla., and Grace Church in Colorado Springs, Colo. - also
officially joined CANA on Sunday.
The Rev. Donald Lee Helmandollar, Trinity pastor for the last 71/2
years, said the decision to join CANA was made after considerable
deliberation over four years.
The ordination of openly gay ministers and the blessing of same-sex
unions are merely the "trip-wire issues" for Trinity and the five other
Connecticut churches at odds with Bishop Smith and the Episcopal Church,
Helmandollar said Wednesday.
"The defining issue for us is the absolute revisionist view of Scripture
within the Episcopal Church, the idea that man wrote the Bible, so man
can change it, " Helmandollar said. "You'll hear such things from the
Episcopal Church. We firmly believe we do not have the authority to do
that. We firmly believe it is the word of God and it's not to be changed."
Trinity and the other five churches sued Smith in federal court two
years ago, claiming he violated their civil and property rights when
they asked to be placed under the authority of a bishop from another
state. The lawsuit said the priests were wrongly charged with being "out
of communion" with the bishop, putting their positions in jeopardy, and
that they were denied due process.
The lawsuit was dismissed last year by a federal judge and the parishes
are appealing.
The six parishes also brought ecclesiastical charges against Smith,
accusing him of "apostasy" for voting to approve the election of New
Hampshire's openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson, in 2003. Those charges
were dismissed by a review committee on April 11.
Smith could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Karin Hamilton,
spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese in Connecticut, said Smith was not
prepared to speak publicly about Trinity's defection until he has had an
opportunity to talk at length with Helmandollar.
The pressing issue for both the diocese and Trinity, now that the split
is formal, is whether the diocese will force church members to worship
elsewhere.
The same scenario is playing out in Virginia, where 11 parishes who
voted to leave the Episcopal Church for CANA have been sued by the
Virginia Diocese and the Episcopal Church over property rights.
According to news accounts, Virginia state law says that the
congregation can retain its property as long as a majority of the
congregation votes to leave the denomination.
The Episcopal Church has taken the position that the properties are
owned by the trustees unless the congregation leaves the denomination,
at which time it forfeits ownership.
Helmandollar said it's too early to speculate on how Smith regards the
property issue.
"We would prefer to stay where we are and in fact we intend to," he
said. "We can only hope there will be no response and that we'll be left
alone to worship in peace."