“A diocese is a collection of churches led by a bishop,” said the Rev. Jim Lewis, canon to the ordinary. “By that definition we are a diocese, we are not a diocese in The Episcopal Church, but that doesn’t make us not a diocese.”
Episcopal Church officials, who have organized a special convention for Saturday to install a provisional bishop, said they planned to comply with the court order.
“We are aware of a temporary restraining order that names The Episcopal Church, but we do not expect it to have any effect on our plans to welcome the presiding bishop on Friday and meet with her on Saturday to choose our new bishop,” said Holly Behre, spokeswoman for the steering committee, in a statement. “We will adopt a name for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina that will comply with the spirit of the order…