San Joaquin Diocese mourns retired Bishop John-David Schofield
“It is with a heavy heart but a joyful spirit that I must share with you the passing of our beloved brother, the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield. Bishop Schofield died peacefully at home sometime last night sitting in his favorite green chair and was found this morning by friends.”
– from current Bishop Eric Menees. (Bishop Schofield led his diocese as they broke from ECUSA in 2007.)
Story: Fresno Bee. Related posts on our website.
San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield and TEC ‘depositions’
“It is with a mixture of sadness and joy that we received today a letter from Bishop Lamb wherein he purports to depose 36 priests and 16 deacons as of May 22, 2009. It is heartbreaking that The Episcopal Church chooses to take such a punitive action and condemn 52 active clergy with ‘Abandonment of the Communion’ when all of these men and women are recognized around the world as priests and deacons in good standing within the Anglican Communion. Read more
Virtue Viewpoints: Bishops Schofield & Cox Deposed…
It was a week that saw further disintegration and separation from The Episcopal Church of its godly remnant.
The House of Bishops met in Camp Allen, Texas, and did a number of predictable things. …
David Virtue has posted his roundup of this week’s events in the Anglican Communion at VirtueOnline.
TEC to ‘depose’ Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin
‘It is a privilege to know that I am standing along side of one of the outstanding theologians of our time, J. I. Packer, who is under similar discipline…’
The meeting of the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops has decided to consent to depose Bishop John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, even though he has resigned from the TEC.
As well, the House of Bishops voted to depose retired Maryland Bishop William Cox (now 87), who conducted ordinations on behalf of the Primate of Uganda, and who resigned from the Episcopal Church to join the Southern Cone a year ago –
Calling on the reconciling love of our Lord Jesus Christ and mindful of our call to be servants of one another and of the mission and ministry of the whole church, we have taken the action of consenting to the deposition of our two brother bishops, John-David Schofield and William Cox. … this action is… necessary for the ongoing integrity of The Episcopal Church. …
Full text from the Episcopal Church.
The Diocese of San Joaquin has published this press release with the response from Bishop Schofield –
Bishop Schofield responds to the HOB decision
The Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin, a member diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of South America, was disappointed by today’s decision of the Episcopal House of Bishops but he was not surprised by it.
Read more
Bishop Schofield Formally Resigns from Episcopal Church House of Bishops
Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin formally resigned from the House of Bishops in a letter sent to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on March 1.
Bishop Schofield said it was the only way for the diocese to preserve biblical truth and the historic Anglican faith and order.
“It is important to note that this is separation and not schism,” he said. “Separation, by definition, is the biblical answer to unrepentant and public false teaching and immorality.” …
Full report from The Living Church.
San Joaquin: Bp Schofield responds to ‘Interim Pastoral Presence’
The Interim Pastoral Presence (see Episcopal Life) in the Diocese of San Joaquin have begun their “listening tour”. Bishop John-David Schofield has written to Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori’s appointees, Canon Brian Cox and Canon Robert Moore.
The text of Bishop Schofield’s letter (pdf file) is available on the San Joaquin website.
Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin ‘inhibited’
In a move which will surprise few, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Kathering Jefferts Schori has inhibited Bishop John-David Schofield –
“I hereby inhibit the said Bishop Schofield and order that from and after 5:00 p.m. PST, Friday, January 11, 2008, he cease from exercising the gifts of ordination in the ordained ministry of this Church…”
He has been given two months to ‘recant’. The inhibition will have little effect since Bishop Schofield and his Diocesan Convention have formally left the Episcopal Church and aligned with the Province of the Southern Cone, although the inhibition is seen as a precursor to legal action by Bishop Jefferts Schori.
Read a report from Episcopal Life.
See also this story – “Episcopal Church bans bishop for 2 mos. after he pushed secession” – from the San Jose Mercury.
31 bishops stand with Bishop Schofield
Thirty one bishops, including Jack Iker (Bishop of Fort Worth), Peter Jensen (Archbishop of Sydney), Robert Forsyth (Bishop of South Sydney) and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali (Bishop of Rochester), have written a letter of support for Bishop John-David Schofield of San Joaquin in his decision to leave The Episcopal Church and to align with the Province of the Southern Cone.
The letter, posted today on the San Joaquin diocesan website, reads as follows –
Dear Bishop John-David,
We, Episcopal colleagues from across the Anglican Communion and across the world, write to salute you on the courageous decision of the Diocesan Convention of San Joaquin to take leave of The Episcopal Church and to align with the Province of the Southern Cone. We know that decision was to a large extent the result of your tenacity and faithful leadership, and for that we give thanks to God. It has been said that you are isolated and alone. We want you and the world to know that in this decision for the faith once delivered to the saints, we stand with you and beside you. May Christ abundantly bless you and your diocese with all the gifts of the Spirit and with joy in believing.
Yours in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Jack L. Iker, Bishop of Fort Worth
and:
The Most Rev. Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney
The Rt. Rev. Matthias Medadues-Badohu, Bishop of Ho
The Rt. Rev. Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester…
Read the letter and see the full list of signatories on the San Joaquin website (PDF file).
‘Land disputes still raging on’ in San Joaquin
“What’s happened since the San Joaquin Diocese, under the leadership of Bishop John-David Schofield, became the first diocese in the country to leave the Episcopal Church in December 2007?
Four dioceses and more than 600 individual congregations in the United States have left the church over the interpretation of Scripture, including whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and the ordination of gay clergy. …
As for the Episcopalian theology, which conservatives say has changed in recent decades, Lamb said: ‘All churches change throughout time. … I think churches are constantly shifting. In this case, it’s not that the Episcopal Church has changed; our understanding of God has changed.’…”
– from The Modesto Bee.
(Photo: San Joaquin’s TEC Bishop Jerry Lamb greets Katherine Jefferts Schori – ENS.)
San Joaquin ‘diocese’ sues for return of ‘church’ property
The Episcopal News Service provides the TEC version of the latest lawsuit –
“The parish litigation is in addition to pending litigation brought by the diocese and by the Episcopal Church against the former bishop, John-David Schofield, which is now before the Fifth District Court of Appeal for review of the trial court’s determination that: (a) Bishop Lamb is the Bishop of the Diocese and incumbent of the Corporation Sole and other Diocesan entities; and (b) the attempts to modify the diocesan constitution and canons and articles of incorporation of the Corporation Sole to disaffiliate the Episcopal Diocese from the Episcopal Church were null and void.”
(Photo: Bishop Jerry Lamb of the TEC remnant diocese of San Joaquin greets TEC Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori – Episcopal Life Online.)
Judge: Property is Episcopalians’
“The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin has prevailed in its initial lawsuit against Anglican Bishop John-David Schofield, who was the first in the nation to lead his diocese away from the Episcopal Church over the interpretation of Scripture and the 2004 ordination of an openly gay bishop.
Thursday, Fresno County Superior Court Judge Adolfo Corona ruled that Bishop Jerry Lamb, not Schofield, is the one true Episcopal bishop of the diocese. …”
– from the Modesto Bee in California.
(Photo: Bishop Jerry Lamb greets TEC Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori – Episcopal Life Online.)
Stand Firm interviews Bishop Jack Iker
“I fully expect that I’ll receive notification from the Presiding Bishop’s office, within days of our diocesan convention, that I’ve been inhibited. Of course by then it will be irrelevant, because I won’t be under the authority of the Episcopal Church. But they’ll play that out in the same that they did with Bishops Schofield and Duncan.…”
– Bishop Jack Iker is interviewed by Greg Griffiths for Stand Firm.
See also this report by David Virtue. (Photo: Stand Firm.)
Bishop of San Joaquin ‘recognised by Canterbury’ – but withdraws from Lambeth
“Bishop Schofield has elected to decline the invitation to the Lambeth Conference issued to him last year although that decision does not signal any withdrawal from the Communion.…”
– Archbishop Greg Venables writes to the people of the Diocese of San Joaquin. On the San Joaquin website (pdf – direct link).
From one San Joaquin bishop to the other
Bishop John-David Schofield of the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin has written to Jerry Lamb, who was appointed bishop of the ‘remnant’ diocese of San Joaquin by Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori.
Last week Bishop Lamb changed the locks and took control of a mission church building after an allegedly irregular parish meeting. Bishop Schofield:
It is not our intention to rush back in and change the locks, as you have done, and cause further upheaval in this small mission. Our actions, however, are not to be construed as a waiver of any rights on our part. The civil courts and our ongoing investigation will ultimately settle the matter of title to the real and personal property of the Mission.
Read the full letter below – Read more
San Joaquin responds to TEC claims
The Diocese of San Joaquin: June 4, 2008, Fresno, California
The following facts are given to correct and clarify recently published misunderstandings and misstatements regarding legal claims against the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin.
All actions taken by the Diocese of San Joaquin were authorized by its governing bodies, namely, its Standing Committee and its Diocesan Council, along with Bishop Schofield. These actions were done in complete compliance with California law and were done to secure the property until a California court can rule on the issue of ownership. …
– Read the rest of this statement from the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin in response to claims made by The Episcopal Church that funds had been improperly transferred.
(See also “Merrill Lynch freezes disputed San Joaquin diocesan accounts pending court ruling” from Episcopal Life Online.)
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The message at the heart of Christianity is really quite simple…