New Episcopal Head to be Invested Amid Controversy
A day before the Episcopal Church makes an unprecedented move Saturday, installing the first woman to head the U.S. body, the new presiding bishop has already mounded controversy and gained reverence from women inside and outside the church.
Katharine Jefferts Schori, the Episcopal Church's 26th head, was recently named one of Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year. While her appointment to head the church has encouraged women, her theological views have collided with conservative dioceses and their orthodox teachings.
A recent interview with the Associated Press indicated her questioning the one way to God - Jesus Christ.
"If we insist that we know the one way to God, we've put God in a very small box," she said, adding that she doesn't believe that "one person can have the fullness of truth in him or herself."
Additionally, Jefferts Schori condones homosexuality, which helped prompt eight dioceses to ask for alternative primatial oversight from the world Anglican Communion.
Jefferts Schori officially began her nine-year term Nov. 1, succeeding Frank T. Griswold who has confidently supported the new head.
With homosexuality as the Episcopal Church's most pressing issue dividing the body, the presiding bishop announced her decision to compromise for healing in the global body.
She said that she believes Episcopalians should fulfill the request of Anglican leaders that the American church stop consecrating any more gay bishops for now, and should refrain from developing an official prayer service to bless same-gender couples.
"There's a piece of me that is very sad that we need to do that, but there's a piece of me that understands that for the health of the larger body, we might have to do that for a season," she said, according to the Associated Press.
Earlier, Anglican leaders in the Global South had suggested conservative leaders form a separate Orthodox Anglican body in the U.S. They had also rejected the representation of Jefferts Schori at the upcoming Primates meeting and called for another.
Only after five years of service as a bishop, Jefferts Schori was elected to office in June even to her surprise.
"It is an amazing occasion for those of us who have labored on behalf of women," said the Rev. Canon Carol Cole Flanagan, who served as the Episcopal Women's Caucus president, according to the Episcopal News Service.
The new head will be invested Saturday morning in a live broadcast on the Internet.
