ECUSA's Loss Is Gain for South American Diocese
by Jim Brown
February 7, 2006
(AgapePress) - - Yet another conservative California parish has decided to leave the Episcopal Church USA over its rift with Anglicanism worldwide.St. Anne's Church in Oceanside has left the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego and is now under the oversight of the bishop of the Diocese of Bolivia, Frank Lyons. The pastor of St. Anne's says his church has had a strong relationship with Bishop Lyons for years, having taken part in missions and healing missions in Bolivia once or twice a year.
Pastor Tony Baron says the overwhelming decision by his congregation to leave ECUSA came at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, as opposed to the prompting of the human spirit. "What it came down to is the Gospel -- the Good News," says Baron. "And it came down to [a question of] who is Jesus Christ -- and we believe that Jesus Christ is the one and only Lord and Savior."
Evidently it also came down to a belief in the inerrancy of the Holy Bible. "Our church, for over a hundred years, [has held] to the high authority of scripture as being the Word of God," the Episcopal priest says. "It's become increasingly clear that the Episcopal Church USA has chosen a path that no longer reflects the steadfast faith of St. Anne's."
According to Pastor Baron, the decision to join with the Bolivian diocese has given the Oceanside parish a sense of freedom and a desire to continue with the mission of the Church -- that is, to make disciples for Jesus Christ. And the events leading up to the decision, he says, have been building for some time now.
"[W]hat has been over [our] head for not only just the last two or three years, but progressively as you've seen since the 1960s, [is] a deterioration of the high view of scripture and [a move toward] more of a pluralistic viewpoint regarding Christianity and Jesus Christ not being the Way, but a way toward salvation," the clergyman says. "This has gone on a long time."
Baron believes the number of congregations leaving the Episcopal Church USA will continue to grow "as God leads each individual church to listen to His voice."
Jim Brown, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
