St. James secession nets lord’s judgment

Deepa Bharath

St. James Church leaders hailed a former archbishop’s criticism of

the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles for suing three churches from

the diocese.

Three Southern California churches -- St. James in Newport Beach,

All Saints’ in Long Beach and St. David’s in North Hollywood --

seceded from Episcopal Church of the United States, saying they

didn’t see eye to eye with the bigger church’s liberal views on

homosexuality, the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the

Bible.

Lord George L. Carey, the retired 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury

who headed the Anglican Church until 2002, led back-to-back

confirmation services last week at the historic Truro Church in

Fairfax, Va. Carey reportedly told the media during a press

conference after the services that he objected to the Los Angeles

Diocese’s move to file lawsuits against the three churches that

seceded and placed themselves under the Diocese of Luwero, in the

Anglican Union province of Uganda, Africa.

“[Bishop Jon J. Bruno] should recognize that the bishop of Uganda

is part of the Anglican Communion,” Carey said, according to the

website of the Christian Challenge, an independent publication

targeting Anglicans and Episcopalians worldwide.

“There’s room, therefore, for understanding and generosity without

going to the law,” Carey said. “The Diocese of Los Angeles, joined by

[the Episcopal Church], has gone to court to try to take back the

property of the three departing parishes.”

The Episcopal Church of United States is also considered part of

the Anglican Communion.

Carey also noted during the conference that ordination of women,

which many Episcopal churches objected to in the late 1970s, is not

the same as appointing a homosexual as bishop, the website said. The

Episcopal Church recently appointed Gene Robinson, an openly gay man,

as the bishop of New Hampshire.

Carey’s statements in support of the churches “are huge,” said

Praveen Bunyan, pastor of St. James Church on Via Lido.

The church has been fighting the diocese’s claims that it owns the

church and surrounding property.

“The archbishop, although he has retired, has a lot of clout in

the Anglican Communion,” Bunyan said. “What he says is heard by the

whole world.”

But John Shiner, attorney for the diocese, said Carey’s opinion is

as good as anyone else’s.

“It’s just one individual’s opinion,” he said. “The current

Archbishop of Canterbury has not criticized the bishop of Los Angeles

or the diocese for the legal actions that have been taken.”

Shiner expects to file an injunction next week asking that St.

James and other churches be stopped from doing anything with the

respective properties until the issue is resolved in court, he said.

Bunyan maintained that Carey’s statement is yet another indication

that the boundaries within the Anglican Communion are being

redefined.

“The boundaries are not geographic any more,” he said. “Churches

would rather be affiliated with a diocese they agree with doctrinally

and theologically than be aligned with a diocese because they are in

the same geographical region.”

* DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

She may be reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at

[email protected].