Episcopalian Bishops Abort Heresy Trial

Although bishops of an Episcopal Church court indicated they were not judging the morality of homosexual behavior, their 7-to-1 decision to dismiss heresy charges against retired bishop Walter C. Righter will have far-reaching implications for the church’s position on homosexuality. In a May 15 ruling in Wilmington, Delaware, the court cleared Righter, who in 1990 ordained a professing homosexual to the diaconate.

“We hope that we will be able to continue in mutual ministry with those that oppose us,” the denomination’s homosexual caucus, Integrity, said in a statement. “There’s so much more that unites us than divides us.” Integrity spokesperson Kim Byham said about half of the denomination’s 100 dioceses could join the 25 already ordaining homosexuals.

Central Florida Bishop John W. Howe, who has been active in charismatic and evangelical renewal, said, “Everyone has felt all along that whatever decision was made would bring clarity to this issue. And it has. We’re disappointed, but we’re not surprised.” Howe, one of ten bishops who brought charges against Righter, added that four of the judges had “done the same thing the accused has done.”

Righter’s accusers claim that his controversial action violated both church doctrine prohibiting the ordination of noncelibate homosexuals and his ordination vows to uphold the church’s doctrine. The court defined core doctrine in terms of the “essence of Christianity,” that which is “necessary for salvation,” concluding that Righter had not violated it.

LONE DISSENT: In his lone dissenting opinion, Bishop Andrew Fairfield of North Dakota took issue with the majority’s definition of doctrine, stating, “I am convinced that the Episcopal Church does have doctrine which proscribes ordination of noncelibate homosexual persons.” Fairfield supported this view in part by appealing to the doctrine of God. “It takes maleness and femaleness, masculinity and femininity, coming together to reflect the image of God,” Fairfield said, contending that homosexual relationships violate the biblical norm of male-female “complementariness.”

In addition to Fairfield’s dissent, Roger J. White, bishop of Milwaukee, and Donis D. Patterson, retired bishop of Dallas, filed an opinion separate from the majority’s. Though technically agreeing with the decision to drop charges against Righter, this opinion took issue with Righter’s argument in support of the ordination of homosexuals in that it is “based on silence in both the Holy Scriptures and in this Church’s teaching.” The opinion states, “The ordination of noncelibate homosexual persons cannot be verified or endorsed by any teaching of the Church nor has the Church given permission to a bishop to take order for such ordinations.”

WHITHER THE CHURCH? Bishop James M. Stanton, who is among those who brought charges against Righter, said, “Most of us thought the court, in good Anglican style, would find some middle ground. It is one thing to conclude that [Righter] violated doctrine but had no malicious intent. It is quite another to say we have no doctrine.”

Stanton cited the Church General Convention’s 1979 resolution deeming it “inappropriate for this Church to ordain a practicing homosexual or any person who is engaged in heterosexual relationships outside of marriage.” In its decision in favor of Righter, the court considered this resolution “recommendatory” in nature. Commenting on that judgment, Stanton said, “One presumes that you don’t need to spell out everything in law. Otherwise, the general convention’s actions don’t mean anything.”

Stanton said the ruling is a turning point for the 2.1 million-member denomination. “This decision signifies that we have left behind our roots in the Church of England,” Stanton said. “It also confirms that the bureaucracy of this church is in the hands of the revisionists.”

Last month’s decision likely will lead to further instances of homosexual ordination. It also may result in individuals and churches leaving the denomination (CT, April 29, 1996, p. 54). And it will certainly motivate both sides in the debate to prepare for next summer’s general convention in Philadelphia. As the church’s highest lawmaking body, the general convention has the power to take the kind of definitive action that would render superfluous such proceedings as those that have surrounded Righter.