There is no common opinion on this issue," Rehill said. Indeed, the issue has been one of the most divisive in the Episcopal Church, rising regularly at the church's once-every-three-years General Conventions and at its annual bishops' meetings.
There have been at least ordinations of gay men or lesbians whom their bishops knew to be sexually active at the time of the ordinations, according to Integrity, a gay advocacy group within the church. Righter is on trial for ordaining Barry Stopfel a deacon in while serving as assistant bishop as Newark.
The bishop of Newark, John Spong, ordained Stopfel a priest a year later but is not charged. If found guilty of heresy, the maximum penalty Righter could receive would be to be defrocked. He would have the opportunity to appeal to a higher panel and ultimately the full U. House of Bishops, which could uphold the conviction by a two-thirds vote. In an age of religious freedom and a smorgasbord of faiths, the notion of being tried for heresy conjures grim tableaus of medieval times when heretics were exiled, imprisoned, even tortured and executed.
The crime of heresy has almost faded from the modern scene, and along with it the grisly punishments that were dramatic fodder for 12th and 13th Century artists.
But in a rare and divisive case unfolding in the Episcopal Church involving a retired bishop who once served on the board of trustees of an Evanston seminary, the crime of heresy is getting a modern stage--and interpretation. The Episcopal Church is preparing for only the second heresy trial of a bishop since the church's founding in America in One Chicago Episcopal leader helped write a defense brief in the case, and another will serve as a legal adviser to the Court for the Trial of a Bishop.
At stake in the trial is not death but the bishop's standing in the church. The most severe punishment would be suspension or revocation of his ministry duties, church authorities say. And at the heart of the trial are issues of sexuality, inclusiveness and church authority.
These prickly principles are under debate not only in parishes in Chicago and in Episcopal dioceses across the country but also in other U. Retired Bishop Walter C.
Righter ordained a practicing gay man as a deacon in the diocese of Newark, N. He also has disagreed with a resolution of the church's assembly of bishops about ordaining a practicing homosexual and has signed a statement affirming his belief that gay and lesbian people in committed relationships should not be excluded from the clergy. For those actions, he was accused of two offenses: violating his ordination vows and "holding and teaching.
Wantland of Eau Claire, Wis. Wantland and other bishops hope to use the rare forum of an ecclesiastical trial to force a resolution of the long-divisive issue. Righter says there is no official church doctrine barring such ordinations. Politics Joe Biden Congress Extremism. Special Projects Highline. HuffPost Personal Video Horoscopes.
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