In May, Bishop Martyn Minns became head of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America, a conservative group with ties to Nigeria. Minns, 64, led 11 Virginia congregations to break ties with the Episcopal Church last year. For 16 years, he has been rector of the historic Truro Church, where George Washington’s father once served on the vestry. Now, Minns prepares for a battle with the denomination he left behind.<\/p>\n
Why did you decide to leave the Episcopal Church?<\/p>\n
I really do believe that the Episcopal Church kind of left me. They have moved to adopt positions and attitudes that are at odds with where the rest of the Anglican Communion is and where I am. And so in that sense, I’ve not really changed that much. But they have.<\/p>\n
Why not stay put and practice your beliefs in your own church?<\/p>\n
That’s obviously something I tried to do. But the problem I had is that most of the congregation here felt they could no longer continue in that mode, and in fact, we lost over 100 families. They voted with their feet.<\/p>\n
What are the consequences of your decision?<\/p>\n
We’re actually now facing potentially the largest lawsuit the Episcopal Church has ever initiated against congregations. They are trying to evict us and indeed to take all of our property and all of our resources away from us. … Our replacement cost is estimated at about $30-million, and we’re just one of the churches.<\/p>\n