Washington D.C., May 3, 2007 / 10:23 am
The leadership of the Episcopalian Church of the United States is upset over the pending installation this weekend of a bishop to head a parallel conservative denomination.
The presiding bishop of the Episcopalian Church, Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has demanded that Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola not install the new bishop to head the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA).
Archbishop Akinola is scheduled to install Bishop Martyn Minns, 64, on May 5 as the head of CANA. However, in an attempt to downplay his presence, Archbishop Akinola is neither giving the main sermon nor appearing at any press conferences, reported The Washington Times.
CANA is considered to be an offshoot of the Nigerian church and a conservative alternative for Episcopalians who still want to remain in the worldwide Anglican Communion but not in the more liberal Episcopalian Church of the United States.
The Episcopalian Diocese of Virginia alone lost 11 parishes — about 9,000 people — to CANA last winter. Currently, CANA consists of about 30 to 35 churches.