You are here
Despite controversy, Episcopal Church maintains unity
By Rev. Duncan M. Gray III
Special to The Clarion-Ledger
The Episcopal Church is much in the news these days. The consecration of the first openly gay bishop, the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, has reverberated beyond our church and into the worldwide Anglican Communion of which we are a part.
Our ecumenical relationships have been impacted, and people who could never spell or even pronounce "Episcopal" have suddenly found a new villain (or hero) within the pantheon of Christian denominations in this country.
Many faithful members of our church in Mississippi seriously disagree with the action but gather week after week at a common altar to worship God and break bread together with those who rejoice in the consecration of Bishop Robinson. How can this be, I often am asked.
How can such serious disagreement be reconciled within a single denomination?
Since we were birthed out of the Church of England, a brief look at our English history provides an important insight into our present situation and personality.
In the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation exacted a bloody toll in England. A succession of monarchs beginning with Henry VIII produced an ecclesiastical pendulum swing from Protestantism to Catholicism to Protestantism.
The political, social and religious fabric of the nation was under enormous pressure.
However, early in the reign of Elizabeth I, a new direction was charted. Queen Elizabeth refused to take sides in the theological disputes and through acts of Parliament she directed that the unity of the Church of England would be based not on doctrinal conformity (as the Protestants demanded) or on magisterial authority (as the Catholics required), but on a common liturgical worship.
Thus, from our earliest moments as a distinct Christian community, liturgical worship, the act of saying our common prayers together, has held us together in the midst of remarkable theological diversity and conflict.
The tensions within our church challenge us. But in a culture that is increasingly polarized, I continue to believe the struggles we are going through have much grace to offer this extraordinarily divided nation and world.
--The Rev. Duncan M. Gray III is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi.
