Richmond, Va., Jan 17, 2020 / 11:30 am
The Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia will no longer hold a bishop's consecration at a Catholic parish in Williamsburg, after an internet petition objecting to the event drew national attention.
"It is with great sadness that I have received a letter from Bishop-Elect Susan Haynes stating that, due to the controversy of the proposed use of St. Bede Catholic Church for her consecration of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia, she has decided to find another location for the ceremony to take place," Bishop Barry Knestout of the Catholic Richmond diocese said in a Jan. 17 statement.
St. Bede Catholic Church is located within the Diocese of Richmond.
A statement from the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia said that the consecration will now take place at Williamsburg Community Chapel. The Williamsburg Community Chapel's website states that it is home to an "interdenominational family of faith."