Two American
priests were consecrated Thursday as Anglican bishops in
Nairobi, Kenya--the latest in a string of conservative
priests who are defecting to African churches in a
dispute over gay clergy.
Bill Atwood of
Texas and William Murdoch of Massachusetts left the
Episcopal Church--the U.S. branch of the worldwide
Anglican Communion--because it allows the
ordination of gay priests.
''The
gospel...must take precedence over culture,'' said
Archbishop Drexel Gomez of the West Indies, one of 10
Anglican leaders or representatives who attended the
ceremony in Nairobi's All Saints Cathedral.
''Homosexual practice violates the order of life given by
God in Holy Scripture.''
The spiritual
head of the Anglican Communion, Archbishop of Canterbury
Rowan Williams, has asked African archbishops not to
consecrate U.S. priests to help avoid a schism. Kenyan
archbishop Benjamin Nzimbi said there had been no
direct communication with Williams over Thursday's
ceremony.
Williams has no
direct authority to force a compromise, because each
Anglican province is self-governing.
The Anglican
Communion has moved toward the brink of splitting since the
Episcopal Church consecrated its first openly gay bishop, V.
Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, in 2003. Most of the
fellowship's 77 million members are based in the
developing world, where homosexuality is strongly
discouraged and often illegal.
A split would be
a financial hardship for the communion because the small
but wealthy Episcopal Church, which has 2.4 million members,
provides a significant chunk of the budget.
Both sides say
the issue goes deeper than simple acceptance of gay
clergy. Liberal Anglicans say the Bible's message of
tolerance means there should be a place for everyone
in church, but conservatives say that is bending the
word of God to fit fashion.
After Thursday's
ceremony Atwood and Murdoch will return home to minister
to their congregations with Nzimbi as their spiritual
adviser. Because they are no longer affiliated with
the Episcopal Church, the men will have to find new
church buildings and funding in the United States.
Several U.S. churches whose priests have switched to a
foreign diocese are embroiled in lawsuits over church
property.
Nzimbi said 30
U.S. congregations have asked to become part of African
dioceses in the last four years. Six other U.S. priests have
been consecrated as bishops in the Rwandan church, and
one has also been consecrated in Nigeria. Another
American priest is scheduled to be consecrated in
Uganda on Sunday.
After Nigerian
archbishop Peter Akinola set up the Convocation of
Anglicans in North America in 2005, some U.S. liberals
accused African archbishops of breaching protocol by
trying to create rival churches on their territory.
Akinola administers his convocation from Nigeria.
Davis Mac-Iyalla,
who heads Nigeria-based Changing Attitudes, an
organization of gay Anglicans, said arguments were being
used to mask political struggles within the church.
''It is all
politics and all about control,'' he said, adding that
African archbishops ''are being used by Western
conservatives because they want to control the
church.''
Not all African
Anglicans are opposed to homosexuality, Mac-Iyalla said.
''My Scripture
has not condemned me,'' he insisted. ''Jesus came and died
for everybody.''
Next month
Episcopal bishops will meet to decide whether they should
agree to demands that they unequivocally pledge by September
30 not to consecrate another openly gay bishop. If the
bishops say no, the church could lose its full
membership in the communion. (Katharine Houreld, AP)
