Colorado Theologian Calls for Presiding Bishop to Resign

The Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner of the Diocese of Colorado sent the following letter to The Most Rev. Frank Griswold who is the Presiding Bishop of the ECUSA.

October 30, 2003

The Most Rev. Frank Griswold
Presiding Bishop
815 Second Ave. New York,
NY 10017

October 28, 2003

Dear Presiding Bishop Griswold:

I write out of deep respect for your office and for various services
you have rendered these past years in filling it. It is precisely for the sake of maintaining this dual respect, tied to the preservation of our church's integrity that I humbly ask, along with many others that you now step down from your position as Presiding Bishop.

The time has come when events have clearly proved your continued leadership of ECUSA to be an obstacle to renewed corporate health.

You have, for some years, lifted up a vision for us of communal diversity; but this vision has now engendered bitter and seemingly intransigent division. You have for some time promoted a pastoral ministry of reconciliation; but this has now been embodied in a widespread rancor. You have sought to give witness to a community where truths are held in tension; but this has now born within our midst only the fruit of lawless turmoil. Compounded by your unwillingness, however principled from your standpoint, to abide by and lead others into respectful embrace of the teaching, pleas and admonitions of the Anglican Communion at large, now voiced with unequivocal clarity, you have left ECUSA in a place where we are a pariah and derided scapegoat for churches and denominations around this nation and across the globe. Whatever happens in New Hampshire, the Episcopal Church has seriously lost its collective way, and your presence at the helm is no longer something in which we can have confidence.

We urge your resignation at this time. It would come as an act of mercy and of courage, and would be welcomed in that spirit.

In the peace of Christ Jesus,

Ephraim Radner (The Rev. Dr.)
Diocese of Colorado

Comments

[*** Dave]

I've had the honor to meet Rev. Dr. Radner. He is a very intelligent fellow, well-respected by his peers for his devotion, his ministry, and his perceptiveness. He's also well-known in Colorado as one of the conservative leaders of the Colorado diocese. He did step in a few years back to try to staunch the defections to AMiA (Anglican Mission in America), but he's clearly been one of the folks carrying the conservative torch to the diocese. As one of the regional missioners, he was one of the top assistants to the previous Colorado bishop.

He was, thus, a natural candidate for bishop during our recent election, and was clearly the choice of the conservative electors. In the end, though, he was defeated fairly soundly by electing convention, and he immediately resigned his missioner role.

I would never discount anything he had to say out of hand, but I don't find this "open letter" to be either helpful or convincing. As an open letter, it plays as much to factionalism as to a sincere reforming effort. His argument that "we are a pariah and derided scapegoat for churches and denominations around this nation and across the globe" is also hardly theologically convincing. And all Presiding Bishop Griswold's resignation at this point would do is make for an even more polarizing debate as to his replacement.