Father Douglas Skoyles, who retired from St. John the Evangelist Church in Inglewood at the end of August, has now formally notified Calgary's Anglican Bishop Barry Hollowell that he is withdrawing from the Anglican Diocese of Calgary and (by extension) the Anglican Church of Canada.

In a letter to Hollowell, Skoyles said he is leaving the denomination he served for 35 years, partly because of the ACC General Synod's affirmation of the "integrity and sanctity" of same-sex relations, last May, and partly because of what he called Hollowell's "vicious and brutal actions" in closing three churches and firing two priests.

Last Sunday, a letter from Hollowell was released to Calgary's Anglican churches, announcing without warning the closing of three parishes -- St. Gabriel's off 4th St. N.W., All Saints in Renfrew, and St. Edmund's in Bowness (to which a priest has not appointed for years).

Churches rumoured next on the block include St. Laurence in Lakeview and St. Philip's off Elbow Drive.

"I'm in shock. I don't know what to say or do. I'm completely stunned," said All Saint's pastor John Wright.

"Our church has never taken money from the diocese. We always pay in -- not a full apportionment, maybe, but over $2,000 a year. We do work in the community like the food bank."

St. Gabriel's Dennis Frame, who is also out of a job at year's end, could not be reached for comment.

While closures were surprising, Hollowell had telegraphed the possibility in the October edition of the Anglican Sower. There he stated that his "number one" priority is funding the new, heavily-mortgaged Holy Trinity suburban church in the far northwest -- "you will hear Holy Trinity every time I speak" -- and that "building an asset for the future" will require hard decisions.

"Parishes that cannot maintain canonical parochial status, nor meet the test of the vision and are unlikely to do so in the future will be closed," Hollowell wrote in his Sower column.

Skoyles said the bishop is not building a Christian community of love.

"This can be summed up in two words: money grab. This is all to pay for the bishop's pet project, Holy Trinity," Skoyles said in a Herald interview.

"St. Gabriel's and All Saints supported themselves, but the diocese owns the real estate, and Holy Trinity has a big mortgage. So who serves whom? Does the diocese serve the parish, or the parish, the diocese?"

Now that he is no longer a member of the Anglican Church of Canada (though he still considers himself part of the global Anglican Communion) Skoyles says only that he'll "serve the Lord in another jurisdiction," perhaps the small but growing offshoot Anglican Catholic Church.

Hollowell, attending a meeting in Saskatoon, could not be reached.

END