Going from Episcopal to Catholic

He retired as bishop in September. Now he'll join a new faith.

By SHERRI DAY, Times Staff Writer
Published November 22, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT [Dirk Shadd | Times] Retired Bishop John B. Lipscomb who retired in September, did not cite a specific reason for his departure or his choice of the Catholic Church as his new place of worship. He is the fourth Episcopal bishop to defect to the Roman Catholic Church this year.

SARASOTA - Retired Bishop John B. Lipscomb announced Wednesday he is leaving the Episcopal Church to become a Roman Catholic.

In a letter to the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, Lipscomb said he has asked the Episcopal Church's governing body to relieve him of his ordination vows and responsibilities.

The 57-year-old Lipscomb, who retired in September, did not cite a specific reason for his departure or his choice of the Catholic Church as his new place of worship.

The move comes as the Episcopal Church grapples with controversy over the ordination of homosexual bishops and same-sex marriage blessings. Around the country, priests and parishioners are struggling to remain faithful to what many see as an increasingly liberal and theologically wayward Episcopal Church.

The Rev. Richard Doscher, Lipscomb's longtime friend, said Wednesday he expected the announcement.

"I know his love for the Anglican Communion, but I also know his disappointment in the direction that the American province is taking," said Doscher, who leads St. Alfred's Episcopal Church in Palm Harbor. "His disappointment is shared by many of us, including myself. His decision to leave was not an easy one."

Splitting with church

Already, three dioceses have taken steps to leave the Episcopal Church, a spokesman with the national church said. And earlier this month, six churches in the Diocese of Central Florida announced plans to split with the national church.

So far, no churches in the Diocese of Southwest Florida have indicated a desire to leave.

Lipscomb's decision to shed his title of bishop and become a Catholic is a first for the local diocese, but reflects a small and growing trend in the national church.

Already three other Episcopal bishops have left for Catholicism this year. In late September, the Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson, from the Diocese of the Rio Grande, asked the House of Bishops, the governing body, to accept his resignation. The other requests came earlier this year from retired bishops in Albany, N.Y., and Fort Worth, Texas.

Widely regarded as a reconciler while in office, Lipscomb said he would not lead his diocese in a break with the national church. But persons close to the bishop said he opposed the outcome of recent meetings by the House of Bishops.

In September, the group agreed to "exercise restraint" in the consecration of partnered gay bishops. The body also voted not to authorize the blessing of same-sex marriages, though some dioceses openly flout that decision. Some critics thought those moves merely represented the status quo because the bishops did not openly condemn homosexuality as out of line with scripture as the Anglican Communion did several years earlier.

Lipscomb, who was raised Baptist and became Episcopalian as a teenager, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday on his decision.

In his letter, the bishop said he and his wife, Marcie, spent a "long season of prayer and reflection ... have come to believe this is the leading of the Holy Spirit and God's call to us for the next chapter of our lives."

Lipscomb also thanked Bishop Robert N. Lynch, who leads the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, for his "openness to our request and for his prayerful support."

It's unclear whether Lipscomb will seek to become a Catholic priest. In recent years, particularly with the decline in the number of new Catholic seminarians, the church has welcomed married Episcopal priests as clergy.

The Rev. Dabney T. Smith, the current leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida, learned of Lipscomb's plans on Tuesday.

Smith was fast-tracked into the role of diocesan bishop when Lipscomb announced he was going on medical leave last year. The 33,000-member diocese stretches from Brooksville to Marco Island.

In a statement, Smith wished his friend well. "I am pleased that he and Marcie have found their place of spiritual solace," he said.

Surprise, sadness

As word of Lipscomb's decision spread Wednesday, many priests were surprised. Others expressed sadness.

"I love John, and I think he's really a spiritual leader, and his retirement was a shock," said the Rev. Denniston Kerr, the rector at St. James House of Prayer Episcopal Church in Tampa. "This, again, is another blow to the church and to me personally."

In a letter to leaders of his parish, the Rev. Douglas Remer said that while he loved the Lipscombs and would pray for them, he disagreed with their decision.

"I continue to believe that our Anglican Communion will find a way to remain united and faithful to Catholic Christianity," wrote Remer, the rector at St. John's Episcopal Church in Tampa. "It will not be easy, nor will it be immediate. But I believe that what Anglicanism has to offer to the Church catholic is far more valuable than it is divisive. ... To that, we shall remain faithful."

Lipscomb's official departure will likely take a while. The House of Bishops, which reviews and votes upon requests by bishops who want to leave the church, meets next in March.

Times researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report. Sherri Day can be reached at 813-226-3405 or sday@sptimes.com.

This year, three Episcopal bishops have defected to the Roman Catholic Church. Bishop John B. Lipscomb, the recently retired head of the Diocese of Southwest Florida, is the fourth. Here are some similarities and differences between the two faiths:

Similarities

1. Reveres Liturgy and the Eucharist

2. Has a Primatial See Episcopalians, the Anglican Communion; Catholics, the Vatican

3. Believes in Apostolic Succession of bishops dating to Peter

Differences

EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1. Ordains women as clergy and bishops

2. Allows priests to marry

3. Lay people can vote on diocesan bishops

ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

1. Does not ordain women

2. Mandates priests must be single and celibate (will accept married Episcopal priests who convert)

3. The Vatican appoints bishops

BIOGRAPHY

The Rt. Rev. James Bailey Lipscomb

Age: 57

Tenure: Elected bishop co-adjutor of the Diocese of Southwest Florida in 1995. Took office as bishop of the diocese in 1996. Went on medical leave in December 2006 due to complications from Parkinson's disease and malaria. Retired earlier this year.

Roots: Raised in Jacksonville. The son of a Baptist preacher, Lipscomb became Episcopalian as a teenager. He was ordained a priest in 1975.

Served: In Florida, South Carolina and Louisiana before he was tapped to lead the diocese.

Family: Married to Marcie. Two grown children.

Source: Times files

[Last modified November 21, 2007, 22:59:13]