Trinity Cathedral, Pittsburgh, whose shared governance by the rival Episcopal and Anglican dioceses of Pittsburgh had been a symbol of civility amid strife, has chosen to move forward as solely an Episcopal cathedral.
Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, writes December 26: The 11-7 decision, taken with three Anglican members of the cathedral chapter absent, has lit up the Episcopal and Anglican blogospheres since it was made last week. The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh has criticized the procedural correctness of the vote.
A resolution that created the relationship in 2008 called for a Christian community “in which the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ may be evidenced in our practices of self-restraint, mutual accountability, and extending respect and forbearance to those with whom we differ.”
“This is a very sad sort of thing,” said the Rev. Catherine Brall, provost of the Downtown cathedral, who first proposed the shared arrangement. “It was a great idea. But, unfortunately, humans being what they are, it was difficult to put into practice. We gave it three years to work, and it just wasn’t working.”
The dual affiliation was created by an overwhelming majority of both the cathedral chapter and congregation in anticipation of the 2008 decision of the majority at the diocesan convention to leave the Episcopal Church. That group is now the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. The remaining Episcopalians continued the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. The cathedral had leadership from both and answered to both Episcopal Bishop Kenneth Price and Anglican Archbishop Robert Duncan.
The vote came on a motion from a member of the cathedral chapter to reaffirm its 1928 charter as an Episcopal parish. Some Episcopalians have long argued that the sharing arrangement violated that charter.
A statement from the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh said that changes to the resolution that had created dual affiliation required a two-thirds vote of the cathedral chapter and the congregation. No congregational vote was held.
“No one on our side was informed in advance that the vote would take place,” said David Trautman, spokesman for the Anglican diocese. “I don’t think anyone on our side was surprised that it happened, but we were surprised at when it happened, that it was right before Christmas.”
Bishop Price said he believed the vote was procedurally correct, and that no congregational vote was required.
“The special resolution that was passed three years ago was something that I viewed as a way in which we could work together, not as a legal document,” he said.
The vote had nothing to do with the conflict between the dioceses over property issues, he said. The cathedral was trying to grow its membership and the dual affiliation made that difficult, he said.
“There have been some good things about what we’ve done, but the chapter has spent six months debating. They came to the conclusion that [dual affiliation] was passed three years ago was not doing what they had hoped,” he said.
“Anyone from the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh is welcome to continue to worship there and to use the cathedral for their events. I think, understandably, that some of them may find this difficult, but the cathedral is open to anybody and always will be.”
An Episcopalian and past member of the cathedral chapter posted on two blogs that he had left the parish due to the way the vote was conducted. Contacted in person, John Campbell declined to comment further.
“I have a strong personal conviction that the concept of broadly serving both sides is a non-negotiable part of the catholicity of Trinity’s … mission,” he wrote on the blogs Titus One Nine and Lionel Deimel’s Web Log.
“[A] cathedral chapter is not a corporate board room, it is a Christian body. The will of all who overwhelmingly enacted the special resolution is being trampled by a small minority that wished to dispatch it as expediently as possible.”