A conservative former Episcopal bishop of Albany who left the church in 2007 to become a Roman Catholic has now returned to his former faith.
Daniel W. Herzog became an outspoken national opponent of ordaining gay clergy after he retired from the ministry in 2007. He made news that year when he and two other diocesan bishops left the Episcopal Church to join the Roman Catholic Church.
The Episcopal Church, the American wing of the worldwide Anglican Communion, had been in turmoil following the consecration in 2003 of V. Gene Robinson as its first openly gay bishop.
Herzog’s return was announced this week by Albany Bishop William Love. Both Herzog and his wife, Carol, left the church. Herzog was one of only a handful of Episcopal bishops ever to join another church.
Dodd said: “”There seems to be general jubilation in the diocese,”
There is a lot that Dodd, and others don’t know about.
Over this past weekend, in many places, there were also a lot of tears.
One day the Albany Times Union may understand that not everything is about homosexuality, but rather it is their obsession and therefore narcissistic projection onto the printed page.
LumenChristie: Why tears? (That’s not a loaded question. I’m curious, don’t know much about this situation.)
As a former protege of +Herzog, I rejoice that he has returned to assist +Bill Love in Albany. That large, sprawling diocese needs more than one bishop who can do visitations and confirmation, etc. But more than that, Bishop Dan’s incredible energy, zeal, and outstanding communication and leadership skills should be a major asset. I’m sure he’ll be very careful not to upstage +Love.
As a baptized Catholic and former RC seminarian, +Herzog would never have been eligible to serve in the new Ordinariat, but he could still have sought to serve as a regular Catholic priest, as other bishop converts like Jeffrey Steenson or John Lipscomb have done. And from what I’ve heard, Dan and Carol continued to tithe to the diocese and frequently attend events at the marvelous Christ the King Spiritual Life Center that will be one of Dan’s great legacies. So, in many ways, it appears that he never lost his affection for and devotion to the Diocese of Albany. This is a big boost for my friends back in Albany.
David Handy+
Can he seek ordination in the Roman Catholic Church except in the Ordinariate? Since he is baptised and confirmed Roman Catholic and is now married, I believe he is only able to return as a layman. Can someone confirm this?
+Herzog, as a former Roman Catholic, would not have been eligible for ordination as priest or even deacon in the Catholic Church. There is an absolute bar on the ordination of Catholics who left the Catholic church to be ordained elsewhere (although not in Orthodoxy or any Eastern church).
#3: The Diocese of Albany, which is geographically wide-spread and diverse educationally, economically, and ethnically, continues to have within it Episcopalians who believe in being the Church in their communities in ways that +Herzog considered too open-minded and “broad church” and did what he could to at least undercut or at least oppose. As in other diocese and Anglican provinces, the disagreement continues whether, as the old hymn said, “new occasions teach new duties; times makes ancient good uncouth”, or times now call for the reassertion of historic orthodoxy.
COLUMCIL (#5),
I admit that I’m not an expert on these things, but I believe it is precisely the fact that he was once a Roman Catholic that makes +Herzog ineligible to participate in the Ordinariat, even if he wanted to. However, the fact that he is married wouldn’t necessarily prevent him from being reordained as a Catholic priest, again, if he wanted to do so instead of just enjoying retirement. There are lots of married ex-TEC priests who’ve been reordained as RC priests.
David Handy+
I’m sure of that, David. Thanks. But I believe a married former Roman Catholic, now an Anglican/TEC priest – not having been a priest previously in the Roman Church – is still not eligible for ordination as a Catholic priest. I’ll see if I can’t research the question a little myself.
“But I believe a married former Roman Catholic, now an Anglican/TEC priest – not having been a priest previously in the Roman Church – is still not eligible for ordination as a Catholic priest.”
Quite right. According to my understanding of the matter, a man who was baptized and raised in the Catholic Church, who then left the Catholic Church, married, and received ordination in the Episcopal Church, is not eligible for ordination in the Catholic Church.
I wonder if Bishop Herzog fully understood his situation.
Thanks, FrKimel. I did research and that was my conclusion as well. Thank you for the confirmation. I wonder, too, if he understood. Since Anglicanorum Coetibus wasn’t promulgated when he left, it may have been a great and sad discovery.
“He(+Bena) transferred from the U.S. Episcopal Church to the Church of Nigeria, an anti-gay splinter group”.
It sickens me that rags like this get away with misrepresentation like this. Just because the Church of Nigeria stands for Biblical orthodoxy, it does not mean it is an “anti-gay splinter group”. And it hasn’t “splintered” off anything, it’s a constituent part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Grow up, newspapers, and spare us your liberal bias.
Thanks to Dr. Tighe (#6) and Fr. Kimel (#10),
I stand corrected. Somehow, I had missed seeing Dr. Tighe’s comment before I posted my ignorant #8. I’m glad to know the RC rules now and I’m particularly glad that both of you continue to post here at T19 from time to time.
David Handy+