PEORIA, Ill. (AP) – An eighth conservative Episcopal diocese is rejecting the authority of the incoming head of the denomination and asking for oversight from another Anglican leader.
The Diocese of Quincy, based in Peoria, voted Sept. 16 that it would not accept the leadership of Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori, who supports gay relationships. Jefferts Schori, the first woman to lead the denomination, will be installed Nov. 4.
The eight dioceses are asking Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, the spiritual leader of the global Anglican Communion, to assign them an Anglican leader who shares their traditional views. The Episcopal Church is the Anglican branch in the United States.
The other protesting dioceses are Dallas; Central Florida; Fort Worth, Texas; Fresno, Calif.; Pittsburgh; Springfield, Ill., and South Carolina.
All the dioceses are members of the Anglican Communion Network, which represents 10 Episcopal dioceses and many parishes with traditional views of the Bible and sexuality.
The network formed after the Episcopal Church confirmed its first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, in 2003.
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