Episcopal Diocese of Quincy

This article is about the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Quincy. For the diocese of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, see Diocese of Quincy (Southern Cone).

Diocese of Quincy
Location
Ecclesiastical province	V
Statistics
Parishes	4
Information
Cathedral	St. Paul's Peoria, IL
Current leadership
Bishop	Rt. Rev. John Buchanan (Provisional)
Map
Location of the Diocese of Quincy
Website
thedioceseofquincyonline.com

The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in western Illinois. It was established in 1877. The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The cathedral seat (home of the Diocese) was originally in Quincy but was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral in Peoria in 1963.^[1] In order to avoid confusion with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria, the diocese retained the name of the location of its original "home" city, Quincy, where its cathedral seat was St. John's,^[2].

In November 2008, a majority of the diocesan synod (or diocesan convention) voted to leave The Episcopal Church and associate with Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, part of a denomination also a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, as part of the conservative "Anglican Realignment" movement.^[2][3] Those parishes and parishioners who did not vote to leave The Episcopal Church remain and continue as the (Episcopal) Diocese of Quincy.^[4] This included the Cathedral parish of St. Paul in Peoria, the largest parish in the diocese. Those who left the Episcopal Church formed the Southern Cone Diocese of Quincy.

An Executive Committee was elected at the Cathedral on December 13, 2008 to carry out the business of the Committee to Reorganize the Diocese of Quincy, in communion with the Episcopal Church, particularly to organize a Special Synod of the Diocese of Quincy to elect a Standing Committee and other officials of the Diocese.^[5] The Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore, assistant bishop of the Diocese of Atlanta, retired bishop of the Diocese of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, served the Diocese of Quincy, as consulting Bishop, until a Special Synod, held at the Cathedral on April 4, 2009.^[6] The synod elected the Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan, retired Bishop of West Missouri, as provisional Bishop. ^[7][8]

Anglican realignment

See also: Anglican realignment

The diocese did not ordain women to the presbyterate,^[2] but does have two female deacons.^[9] As of 2006 it was one of only three dioceses in the Episcopal Church that did not ordain women; the other two were the Diocese of San Joaquin, whose convention voted to secede from the Episcopal Church in December 2007, and the Diocese of Fort Worth, whose convention voted in November 2008 to secede.^[10]

In 2006, the diocese issued a news release saying that it was "unwilling to accept the leadership" of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and passed resolutions asking for "alternative pastoral oversight" and withdrawing consent to be included in Province 5 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.^[10]

On November 7, 2008, the 131st Synod of the Diocese of Quincy voted to leave the Episcopal Church and instead join the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. As Ackerman's resignation as bishop took effect on November 1, the Rev. Canon Edward den Blaauwen of Moline, Illinois was appointed to preside over the synod.^[2]

The major resolutions, which both passed, were to annul the diocese's accession to the constitution and canons of The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and to join the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone. After the vote to realign passed, it was announced that Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone appointed den Blaauwen as Vicar General in the absence of a sitting bishop.^[2]

Also passed by the synod were: a resolution that parishes may withdraw from "the Synod of this Diocese" by a two-thirds vote within the following nine months, and clergy may transfer to other dioceses; a resolution seeking an amicable settlement regarding diocesan assets with the Episcopal Church and any congregations that might seek to remain in the Episcopal Church; a resolution that other parishes outside the geographic boundaries may join the synod of the diocese; funding for the Province of the Southern Cone and the Anglican Communion Network; support for the Common Cause Partnership; and a new diocesan canon to govern marriage, defined as being between "one man and one woman".^[2]

The Episcopal Church's Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, stated that "The Episcopal Diocese of Quincy remains, albeit with fewer members".^[2] The legitimacy of other secession actions has been actively challenged by The Episcopal Church, which takes the position that dioceses and parishes may not leave without the Episcopal Church's governing bodies.^[11] As a consequence, the long-term effect of these votes is unclear, as with similar cases in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh; those two dioceses have each split into two factions, with each faction claiming to be the legitimate succession of the traditional diocese. Neither secession nor annulment of accession is either prohibited or provided for by the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church.^{[citation needed]} The Constitution and Canons of the Province of the Southern Cone allow only dioceses in the six southern nations of South America,^[12] but the Province of the Southern Cone has agreed to accept realigning dioceses "on an emergency and pastoral basis".^[13] None of these three dioceses are listed as part of the Province of the Southern Cone by the Anglican Communion office.^[14]

References

1. ^ "Our Parish History". Peoria, Illinois: Cathedral Church of St. Paul. 2008-10-21. http://www.stpaulspeoria.com/yourti103629.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f g} Bjordal, Joe (2008-11-08). "Presiding Bishop says church laments Quincy departures". Episcopal News Service. http://www.episcopal-life.org/79901_102262_ENG_HTM.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
3. ^ Zoll, Rachel (2008-11-08). "3rd Episcopal diocese splits from national church". Associated Press. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jldFTuKLofLmn40HFLfnIMlaVDvgD94B1QN83. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
4. ^ http://www.stpaulspeoria.com/yourti108104.html
5. ^ http://episcopaldioceseofquincy.ning.com/forum/topics/steering-committee-2
6. ^ http://episcopaldioceseofquincy.ning.com/forum/topics/consulting-bishop-for-diocese
7. ^ http://www.pjstar.com/news/x551068656/Top-Episcopal-Church-bishop-visits-Peoria
8. ^ http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_106683_ENG_HTM.htm
9. ^ "List of Clergy with Photographs available". Peoria, Illinois: Diocese of Quincy. 2008-08-23. http://www.dioceseofquincy.org/clergy_list.html. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Schjonberg, Mary Frances (2006-09-19). "Episcopal Diocese of Quincy seeks alternative oversight". Episcopal News Service. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_77919_ENG_HTM.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-08. 
11. ^ "Episcopal Diocese charges clergy with abandonment". Stockton, California: Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. 2008-10-17. http://www.diosanjoaquin.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/102. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
12. ^ "The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America: Constitution and Canons". 2008-02-11. http://www.fwepiscopal.org/downloads/PSCconstitution&canons.pdfhttp://www.fwepiscopal.org/downloads/PSCconstitution&canons.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-10. "The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone, which shall henceforth be called The Province, is composed of the Anglican Dioceses that exist or which may be formed in the Republics of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay and which voluntary declare themselves as integral Diocesan members of the Province." ^{[dead link]} (Quote from Section 2.) Document on Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone) website.
13. ^ Bjordal, Joe; Mary Frances Schjonberg (2008-08-14). "Quincy: Diocese offers 'resource' for making realignment decisions". Episcopal News Service. http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_99994_ENG_HTM.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-10. 
14. ^ http://www.anglicancommunion.org/tour/province.cfm?ID=S5

External links

• Official Website
• ECUSA Province Directory
• Province V website