CofE clergy support conservative US Bishop in face of disciplinary threats

The Catholic Group in the Church of England General Synod has written a letter of support to the Bishop of Fort Worth after he was given a warning from the Presiding Bishop of the US Episcopal Church that he would face discipliniary action if his diocese changed its constitution to secede from the Episcopal Church.

So far, 51 people have signed the letter to Bishop Jack Iker,which praises his "stand for Scripture and traditional faith and order" .

The letter also describes the Episcopal Church's departure from Scripture as "deeply damaging" and describes its use of litigation as "nothing short of a scandal", reports Church Times.

The letter welcomed the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments that dioceses compliant with Windsor would remain in the Anglican Communion and hoped that Bishop Iker would be encouraged to do so.

Those who signed the letter said that they "look to the Church of England to give a lead in modelling better ways of handling disagreement to the Episcopal Church and the rest of the Communion".

The signatories also expressed concern at the way the Episcopal Church leadership has been handling disagreements within the Church.

Prebendary Houlding who signed the letter said, "There is a general concern about the use of secular courts to try and solve what is an ecclesial problem... Threatening secular legislation, as far as we are concerned in the Church of England, is an unthinkable way of going about things."

He continued, "We are not out to criticise the Episcopal Church as such, but to put down a marker about the way they are handling the crisis, through the secular courts."

The letter to Bishop Iker described the Episcopal Church as "unitarian and universalist in theology, and coercively utopian in social practice".

They also raised concerns that the Episcopal leadership had been invited to attend the Lambeth Conference whilst "faithful Anglican bishops" had not.

Of the 51 signatories, 34 also signed a similar letter sent by Evangelical members of the Synod to the Rt Rev Bob Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, who received an identical letter threatening action from Bishop Schori.