Despite the growing threat of a major split in the Episcopal Church, the denomination's presiding bishop continues to defend his support for an openly homosexual bishop.

President Bishop Frank Griswold tells Associated Press he voted in favor of confirming Gene Robinson because New Hampshire members had overwhelmingly chosen him in their local election.  Griswold says the Episcopalians in New Hampshire had a right to make that choice.

And Griswold argues that scripture does not condemn same-sex relations -- a claim that most evangelicals find absolutely ludicrous.

The issue of Robinson's election this summer has badly split members of the Episcopal Church USA, leading to several dioceses voting to withhold their funds to the denomination's headquarters.  In fact, more than 2,000 of those conservative Episcopalians will be in Dallas next week for a strategy session on how to fight the pro-homosexual movement in their church.

The following week, the World Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church USA is a part, will hold an emergency meeting on the issue in London.

Confusion and Disillusionment

In the weeks since Bishop Robinson's ordination by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church -- as well as its approval to priests who wish to perform same-sex "union" ceremonies -- the turmoil in the two-million member denomination has continued.

Bishop Jack Iker of Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday said the Convention's decisions have resulted in "embarrassment and confusion, disappointment and grief to thousands ... divided and broken the church we love and serve ... and shattered the unity of the [Anglican] Church."

And Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, speaking on Saturday of what he describes as "schismatic decisions," said "unity with the whole Christian Church, not just the Anglican Communion, is at stake."

Concern among Episcopal bishops is not limited to the United States.  In a letter to a fellow bishop in Africa -- who during a recent interview said African clergymen who were expressing opposition to homosexual ordination were "arrogant, intolerant, and hypocritical" -- Archbishop Peter Akinola of the Anglican Church of Nigeria stated: "What is at stake has to do not just with the identity of the Church universal and our historic faith, but also how we treat God and His incarnate and written Word."

Diane Knippers, president of the Institute on Religion and Democracy (ird-renew.org) and an active member of the Episcopal Church, says the disregard by her denomination's leaders of biblical teaching and their acceptance of homosexuality has created instability in the church.

"We are in a period of enormous turmoil in the Episcopal Church," Knippers laments.  "We're hearing reports from across the country of lay people in local congregations who are [grieving] over the decisions of the Episcopal Church at our General Convention -- and [reports of] many people who are just confused [and] don't know what to do."

Knippers says the more than 2,000 Episcopalians expected to attend the gathering in Dallas next week will make an appeal to the archbishops of the worldwide Anglican Communion to step in and "help us in this time of crisis."

"Essentially, this is our Macedonian call to the rest of the church," she says.

© 2003 Agape Press. All rights reserved. Used with permission.