NORTH VANCOUVER, BC-Orthodox Anglicans are outraged by what they regard as a deliberate bid by Bishop Michael Ingham to seize control over one of the nine parishes in his New Westminster diocese that no longer recognize him as bishop.

On September 7, worshippers attending Sunday services at St. Martin’s in North Vancouver were met by two diocesan representatives, who told them Ingham had invoked canon law and was assuming direct control of the parish.

They announced that all the church’s elected parish representatives had been fired. In their place, Ingham named three "bishop’s wardens" who are apparently more inclined to accept his authority.

The day before, parishioners had foiled an attempt by a diocesan employee and a locksmith to change the locks on the doors of the church.

And two days after taking over the parish, the new wardens fired St. Martin’s youth minister on grounds that they could not afford his salary.

"Bishop Ingham is a bully," says Peter Turner, president of Fidelity B.C., a lay organization that studies changes in the ethical teachings of Anglicanism.

"It’s very disturbing that someone who calls himself an Anglican bishop would take such heavy-handed tactics in trying to deal with parishioners."

St. Martin’s is a member of the Anglican Communion in New Westminster (ACiNW), a coalition of parishes that broke with Ingham last year after the diocesan synod voted to authorize a rite of "blessing" for same-sex couples. The parish has been without a rector since January, when Timothy Cooke resigned over this issue.

In July, church members voted 59.79 per cent in favour of accepting Yukon Bishop Terry Buckle as their new "alternative" bishop.

In a statement, Ingham said "the unwillingness of some members of the parish to search for [a new rector] through the normal diocesan process" had forced him to act.

"My hope is that stability and normalcy will return very soon and that we can quickly begin to seek your new Incumbent [rector]," he added.

Communion weakened

But Ingham’s critics say all he has done is further weaken the international Anglican Communion-which is already on the point of collapse over homosexuality.

"This issue is going to have to be resolved through the worldwide Anglican church," says Turner. "What we have here is a bishop who is not teaching according to our understanding of the basics of Christianity and Anglicanism."

Turner believes it is "no coincidence" that Ingham acted on the same day that three Primates from Africa, India and South America were in Vancouver to join Canadian and American proponents of Anglican orthodoxy in a show of solidarity with the ACiNW.

At a news conference, Archbishop Bernard Malango, Primate of Central Africa, offered little hope that this dispute can be resolved short of a permanent split.

"What is happening here is complete schism," he says. "They [the diocese of New Westminster] want to be on their own, and they’re cutting themselves off from the Anglican Communion."

In October, the Communion’s 38 Primates will meet in London to grapple with the deepening divide over the place of homosexuality in the church.

Need for limits

Retired Primate Maurice Sinclair believes a majority will push for "decisive action" to settle the issue once and for all.

"Anglicanism is a comprehensive church and not unduly narrow, but clearly there are limits. These limits need to be clearly set out, and then steps put in place to ensure these limits are respected," he says.

"Where churches don’t respect the limits, then clearly sanctions have to be applied."

And that determined attitude is not limited to the highest levels of the Anglican church. At least some members of St. Martin’s say they too intend to act decisively to reclaim their parish.

"Initially I felt sad and disheartened, but your faith becomes stronger," parishioner Patricia Young told the North Shore News.

"The majority of Anglicans in the world believe what we believe."