CHARLESTON, S.C. Episcopal schism now over name, property
CHARLESTON, S.C. Episcopal schism now over name, property
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press
http://www.thestate.com
Jan. 6, 2013
After disputes over doctrine led the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina to leave the national church, now comes a lawsuit over an estimated half-billion dollars of church property and a debate over what comprises the Episcopal church in the eastern half of the state.
One expert likens what is happening to the final days of the Civil War: a lingering skirmish after years of controversy over the ordination of gays and other issues that will have little effect on the national church.
"At Appomattox, Grant and Lee signed the final surrender but there were places where the fighting went on for months. The news didn't reach Arkansas and Texas the war was over. I think in South Carolina you are seeking something like that," said Frank Kirkpatrick a professor of religion at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and author of "The Episcopal Church in Crisis: How Sex, the Bible and
Authority are Dividing the Faithful."
He estimates perhaps 5 percent of Episcopalians nationally may have left the church in recent years because of the theological disputes. He says that figure is likely less than 8 percent if one includes those who simply stopped attending services, but didn't formally leave.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By BRUCE SMITH
Associated Press
http://www.thestate.com
Jan. 6, 2013
After disputes over doctrine led the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina to leave the national church, now comes a lawsuit over an estimated half-billion dollars of church property and a debate over what comprises the Episcopal church in the eastern half of the state.One expert likens what is happening to the final days of the Civil War: a lingering skirmish after years of controversy over the ordination of gays and other issues that will have little effect on the national church.
"At Appomattox, Grant and Lee signed the final surrender but there were places where the fighting went on for months. The news didn't reach Arkansas and Texas the war was over. I think in South Carolina you are seeking something like that," said Frank Kirkpatrick a professor of religion at Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., and author of "The Episcopal Church in Crisis: How Sex, the Bible and
Authority are Dividing the Faithful."
He estimates perhaps 5 percent of Episcopalians nationally may have left the church in recent years because of the theological disputes. He says that figure is likely less than 8 percent if one includes those who simply stopped attending services, but didn't formally leave.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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