The leader of the United States Episcopal Church told Ugandan Anglican bishops on Friday to keep out of its affairs after three Los Angeles parishes decided to ally themselves with an African diocese in the row over homosexual clergy.
The parishes, in Newport Beach, Long Beach and North Hollywood, are the first to seek oversight from a bishop overseas. They have fallen out with the Rt Rev Jon Bruno, the Bishop of Los Angeles, because of his support for blessing services for gay couples. He has warned the parishes’ ministers that they may be deposed.
In defiance of Anglican traditions of episcopal authority, the Rt Rev Evans Kisekka, Bishop of Luwero, in Uganda, has said he will act as the parishes’ bishop, while the Most Rev Henry Orombi, the Archbishop of Uganda, has also backed the US dissidents.
On Friday, Frank Griswold, the US church’s presiding bishop, said: ”The bishops of the Anglican Communion and the primates … have made it clear that bishops are to respect the boundaries of one another’s dioceses and provinces.”
The latest row places the Anglican Communion under fresh strain in the dispute over the US church’s decision to appoint an openly gay bishop in New Hampshire last year.
A commission is due to report in October outlining the communion’s future structure in the wake of the crisis. In the meantime George Carey, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, has volunteered to conduct confirmation services in Virginia for those who do not wish to be touched by their diocesan bishop, Peter Lee, who voted in favour of Bishop Robinson’s appointment. – Guardian Unlimited Â