Episcopal News Service December 17, 2006
Virginia bishop vows to care of remaining Episcopalians, assert rights to departing congregations' property
Presiding Bishop says 'quick fix' of departing is not ultimate solution
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[ENS] Bishop Peter Lee of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia said December 17 that he was saddened by the fact that, as of that afternoon, Nigerian and Ugandan congregations were "occupying Episcopal churches."
Lee's statement came as eight of Virginia's 195 congregations announced that their members had voted to sever ties with the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Anglican Church of Uganda or the Anglican Church of Nigeria by way of the Anglican District of Virginia, part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). The members of the eight congregations amount to about 8,000 of the diocese's roughly 90,000 Episcopalians.
The Episcopal Church includes some 7200 congregations in its 100 domestic dioceses, and about 150 in its 10 overseas dioceses and one convocation.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_80571_ENG_HTM.htm
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