Gustav Thiel
THE Anglican Church was due in Port Elizabeth’s Labour Court this Friday to fight a case in which God’s will (according to the church) squares up to the Labour Relations Act.
Roger Paxton, a former Anglican rector in the Eastern Cape, claims he was unfairly dismissed and that the church breached the new labour law when it failed to provide a reason for his dismissal last June.
He claims he was axed because he tried to unite three Anglican parishes in Humansdorp which are divided along racial grounds.
But Bishop Eric Pike said he had revoked Paxton’s licence to practice “because I found that he had ceased to properly administer the will of God to the people”.
Pike says it is his duty to revoke a licence if he decides that a priest is failing to carry out his God-given duty.
The crux of the matter, Pike adds, is whether the labour court has the right to alter a decision made in terms of the church’s strict guidelines.
“This is most certainly a very interesting test case and will go a long way towards shaping the relationship between churches and labour laws,” Pike adds.
“We follow very strict canons, or guidelines, and feel these should continue. We base our right to dismiss clergy on the belief that they are appointed by God as his servants and are thus not employees of the church in the strict sense of the word.”
Paxton says it is time to challenge the sovereign right of any church to dismiss its employees by “merely stating that the wishes of God were not served . The time has passed for clergy not to be seen as normal employees.”
He believes the new Act, which came into effect last November, safeguards his right to be given “a proper explanation and justification for my dismissal. I believe part of the reason for my dismissal was due to the fact that I tried to break down the racial barriers [in Humansdorp].
“The parishes are strictly divided along racial lines, one for black, one for white and one for coloured people,” Paxton says
Pike says he is astonished by the fact that Paxton would “drag race into the case. To my mind race has absolutely nothing to do with this case.”
Pike says he explained his reasoning to Paxton’s parish.
He had been advised by the registrar of the Anglican church to say nothing more “to avoid further letters from lawyers.
“I believe I have performed my duty to God by this and wouldn’t like to elaborate on this in the media.”