“It is a sad day for me, a faithful son of that church,” Duncan said following the House of Bishops’ decision at a meeting in Salt Lake City. The bishops voted 88-35 with four abstentions to unseat Duncan.
Duncan, who has been the bishop in Pittsburgh for 11 years, remained upbeat.
“It is a hopeful day because of the unstoppable reformation that is overtaking the Christian church in the West,” he said.” It is also a hopeful day for me personally as I am unanimously welcomed into the House of Bishops of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, an act applauded by Anglican archbishops, bishops, clergy and people all around the world.”
A spokesman for the Pittsburgh group Across the Aisle, which opposes Duncan’s efforts to secede, said the bishop and his family “remain in our prayers.”
[i]The bishops voted 88-35 with four abstentions to unseat Duncan.[/i]
If I remember correctly, it was also 88 bishops who voted [i]against[/i] resolution B-001 at the ’03 GC. Briefly, that resolution was a statement of concurrence with scriptural authority, the Articles of Religion, and similar statements from several GCs in the ’70s and ’80s. It also included an admission that councils of the church can err, and that when they do, scripture should trump decisions of a human council.
Could somebody compare lists of those bishops voting against B-001 and those voting to depose Duncan? I’d bet there’s a rather strong overlap, and if that is indeed the case, it will leave no doubt as to who has in fact abandoned the church.
Problem is, the inmates are now in charge of the asylum.
Bishop Duncan may be “out” as far as The Episcopal Church’s bishops are concerned, but he is definitely “IN” as far as his new province……and the rest of the Communion……including Canterbury…..is concerned. Nothing has changed……nor will it.
When I read the headline, I couldn’t help think of the famous quip by Mark Twain: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
I don’t think Bishop Duncan is going anywhere.
This irony just struck me, though it may not be a new revelation to most: Virtually the identical group who cried that the people of the diocese of New Hampshire deserved their [i]democratically-selected[/i] bishop, have denied that right to the people of Pittsburgh.