ECUSA: HOUSE OF BISHOPS’ DEPO PLAN CRITICIZED AS INADEQUATE AND SELF-SERVING

This week, the ECUSA House of Bishops meeting in Navasota, Texas, announced a proposal for Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO)—a response to the crisis over broken trust between revisionist bishops and orthodox congregations. Thoughtful Episcopalians say it addresses symptoms, not systemic problems.

The question is whether DEPO—described as a compromise between Episcopal Pastoral Care and Alternative Episcopal Oversight—offers real relief, or is merely a bureaucratic veneer preserving the status quo.

Not all orthodox bishops attended. Four bishops boycotted entirely. Five—including Pittsburgh Bishop Bob Duncan—attended meetings but stayed off-site. Some who did attend limited their participation, refusing to share the communal life of the House. They know what “reconciliation” à la Griswold means: staying together until you agree that pansexuality is “good and right in the eyes of God.”

A deliberate effort to place Duncan in a small group with New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson failed—Duncan refused to be sequestered for a “see I’m normal—why can’t we all get along?” huddle. Quincy Bishop Keith Ackerman did not attend, citing personal reasons.

The stakes were high. Just prior to the meeting, Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold received a private letter from Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams urging caution—and warning that failure to act responsibly could threaten Griswold’s own position. Yet Griswold never shared the letter’s contents with the House—fueling speculation that disciplinary action against the “Ohio Five” would trigger strong reprisals from the Primates.

In the end, the five bishops involved in the Ohio confirmations were not formally punished—only mildly reproved and spared trial.

Meanwhile, Griswold did publicly release a letter from the Primate of Brazil, Bishop Orlando Santos de Oliveira, who condemned his own Bishop of Recife, Robinson Cavalcanti, for participating in the Ohio event. Cavalcanti faces discipline; Griswold does not—even though he presided at Robinson’s consecration after signing a public pledge in London not to do so.

A Brazilian source explained: “The Brazilian Church depends on ECUSA for money. Orlando is not a conservative, but he is also not an active liberal. Do not expect anything from the Brazilian church except support of ECUSA.”

Orthodox leaders universally condemned the DEPO plan:

• The American Anglican Council (AAC) called it “inadequate.”

• Canon David Roseberry, an AAC leader, echoed that verdict.

• An orthodox theologian said it was “dead on arrival.”

• Forward in Faith North America (FIFNA), the Anglo-Catholic wing, declared: “We will not accept this. We are committed to Adequate Episcopal Oversight as defined by the Archbishop of Canterbury.” — Fr. David Moyer, FIFNA leader.

Only the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (NACDP) offered a measured response. Its moderator, Bishop Duncan, said the DEPO plan would require “tremendous generosity and charity on the part of the bishops and an extraordinary new level of trust on the part of the people and clergy”—if it is to work.

When asked how he copes with the burdens of office, Griswold said he works out at the gym, reads fiction, and visits his country house in New Hampshire. He made no mention of prayer, Scripture, or the Holy Spirit.

Bishop Pierre Whalon (Convocation of American Churches in Europe) described the closed-door meetings as having an “undertone of dread.”Bishop Charles Jenkins, chair of the Presiding Bishop’s Council of Advice, presented a plan for adequate oversight—but faced “much pressure against it,” saying, “The stakes are high.”

The AAC noted that no faithful congregations or their representatives were consulted—reinforcing the perception of “continued arrogance” among Griswold and his allies, who prioritize institutional power over pastoral care.

Virtuosity learned that the Ohio confirmations were planned under unprecedented secrecy. Canon David Anderson (AAC General Secretary) said: “We caught them absolutely flat-footed. We were not even telling our midlevel AAC folks where it was to be—and third-level folks didn’t even know when. We kept it so secret because we didn’t want ‘ungodly admonitions’ to be given to the six rectors, who would then—if they showed up at all—be vulnerable for violating an ‘ungodly admonition.’”Then Anderson added: “There will be more.”

It is now clear the AAC is prepared for sustained conflict—not retreat.

Griswold repeatedly invoked the “ministry of reconciliation”—a phrase drawn from 2 Corinthians 5:18. Yet in context, that passage calls for repentance and reconciliation to God. To Griswold, it has become a demand that orthodox Anglicans reconcile to him and his agenda.

As one exegete noted: “Truth is constantly being turned on its head… what issues forth from his mouth is his own theobabble that baffles Global South bishops but feeds the revisionist episcopate.”

In Southern Virginia—where the bishop voted against Robinson’s confirmation—2004 pledges have dropped 24%. Bishop David Bane appointed a reconciliation commission, led by Herman Hollerith of Bruton Parish (the largest Episcopal church in the diocese), who says the gay bishop does not threaten his theology—but he will not perform same-sex blessings.

Yet Bane opposes President George W. Bush’s proposed constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, saying: “It is imperative that we not try through the legislative or legal process to short-circuit or pre-judge ongoing conversations about the moral and religious issues involved.”This kind of flip-flopping, a reader wrote, “has people screaming into their coffee cups and pulling their hair out.”