The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church declared Thursday that church members who joined a newly formed conservative denomination "are no longer Episcopalians," even as she predicted that the exodus had largely run its course and would not trigger further large-scale defections.
In her first public comments since a coalition of 700 parishes announced the formation of a new North American church Wednesday, the Most. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori also reiterated that church property must remain in Episcopal hands, a position disputed by breakaway leaders.
"They are no longer Episcopalians," Jefferts Schori said of those who left. "They have made that very clear in their departures.
"Those who were formally bishops in the Episcopal Church are no longer understood to be bishops in the Episcopal Church," she added in a meeting with Times reporters. "They are free to associate with whom they wish."
Leaders of the new Anglican Church in North America have taken issue with what they view as the Episcopal Church's liberal policies on the role of gays in the church. They agreed, however, with Jefferts Schori on at least one point.
"We are not Episcopalians; we are Anglicans," said Bishop Martyn Minns, whose group, the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, helped create the new Anglican church.
The Episcopal Church is the American arm of the 77-million-member Anglican Communion. The global body has 38 self-governing provinces and is led by the archbishop of Canterbury.
Along with other Protestant denominations, the Episcopal Church in recent years has struggled to hold together theologically disparate factions at odds over issues involving sexuality and biblical authority. The current crisis was precipitated by the 2003 ordination of a partnered gay priest as bishop of New Hampshire.
The 700 breakaway churches, primarily from the U.S. but some from Canada, had previously voiced their discontent by placing themselves under the jurisdiction of conservative Anglican leaders abroad, including those in South America and Africa.
Leaders of the new coalition said interest was growing as disaffected congregations and dioceses looked to them for alternatives to the Episcopal Church.
But Jefferts Schori said she expected the departures to have little effect on the 2.4-million-member Episcopal Church. The new Anglican Church in North America has an estimated 100,000 members.
