An Episcopalian priest who claimed last month to be both Muslim and Christian has been suspended for a year, according to reports.
The Rev Ann Holmes Redding, the Episcopalian who made headlines after she told the Seattle Times that she was ''100 per cent'' Muslim and Christian, must now take a year from her position at Seattle's St Mark's Episcopal Cathedral after 23 years of priesthood.Redding told the newspaper that she was “deeply saddened” by the decision, but would abide by the ruling of her bishop, the Rt Rev Geralyn Wolf.
Many believe "the last thing the Church needs to deal with at this time is this type of doctrinal dispute”, she said, referring to the current clash within The Episcopal Church over homosexuality and the authority of Scripture.
“I wish it could've been at a more convenient time, but as far as I know I am responding to God's will and God's timing," she added.
In a front-page article last month in the Seattle Times, Redding said she had been a practicing Muslim for 15 months after being profoundly moved by an introduction to Islamic prayer.
She told the newspaper that since entering Islam, “I have been, by my own estimation, a better teacher, a better preacher and a better Christian."
Many, however, strongly disagreed with her claims, including the Bishop of the Diocese of Rhode Island who made the recent ruling.
Redding should "reflect on the doctrines of the Christian faith, her vocation as a priest, and what I see as the conflicts inherent in professing both Christianity and Islam," Bishop Wolf wrote in an e-mail to church leaders, according to the Associated Press. Redding was ordained by a former bishop of Rhode Island and therefore remains subject to discipline by that diocese.
A number of eminent theologians have responded to last month’s coverage on Redding, affirming that the Christian belief in the Divine Being and Savior Jesus Christ is incompatible with the Islamic teaching of Jesus as a prophet.
