Bishop Cox gives Sect the ecclesiastical finger

TULSA,OK: Episcopalian bishop bolts to Anglicans

By BILL SHERMAN
World Religion Writer
http://tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=070407_1_A1_spanc31755
4/7/2007

A retired Oklahoma bishop charged with violating church law resigned this week from the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church and has been accepted into the Anglican Diocese of Argentina.

The Episcopal Church is the American branch of the worldwide Anglican communion.

The Rt. Rev. William J. Cox, 86, is a casualty of the growing rift in the Episcopal Church over biblical authority and the ordination of gay clergy.

Cox, who lives in Tulsa, was facing an Episcopal church trial on charges that he violated church law by ordaining two Anglican priests and a deacon in Kansas without the permission of the bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, among other charges.

His resignation leaves the status of the trial in question.

Cox said if the trial is held, he will not participate.

The Rev. Jan Nunley of the Episcopal News Service said the policy of the national church is not to comment on ecclesiastical trials.

Last week, Cox was accepted as a retired assistant bishop in the Anglican Diocese of Argentina, Province of the Southern Cone.

That diocese, and some in Africa, have been accepting ecclesiastical authority over American churches and individuals leaving the Episcopal denomination over the consecration of a gay bishop.

The Episcopal Church has been severely criticized by Anglican leaders, especially in the Southern Hemisphere, for consecrating Bishop Gene Robinson, a self-avowed practicing homosexual.

Cox, who served as assistant bishop of Oklahoma from 1980 until his retirement in 1988, is well-known in the area as a speaker and leader of healing seminars held in a variety of denominations.

He fell out of favor with the Episcopal leadership in Oklahoma in recent years by aligning himself with conservative Episcopalians who are leaving the church in the wake of the Robinson consecration.

"The church today is not the church I was ordained in 50 years ago, because of its revisionism and its lack of orthodox theology," Cox said. "It has abandoned biblical faith and practice."

Cox said he did not resign solely because of the pending trial, but that the trial was "the straw that broke the camel's back."

Cox's current trouble with the church began about two years ago when he was contacted by Anglican Archbishop Henry Luke Orombi, primate of the Province of the Church of Uganda.

Orombi had assumed authority over the former Christ Church Episcopal in Overland Park, Kan., when it left the Episcopal Church. He asked Cox to ordain two priests and a deacon there, so Orombi would not have to make the trip from Africa.

Cox agreed to do the ordinations.

The bishop of the Diocese of Kansas, the Rt. Rev. Dean Wolfe, asked him not to do it, and Oklahoma Bishop Robert M. Moody advised him against it.

Cox performed the ordinations in June 2005.

"If I had it to do over again, I would do the same thing," he said. "These people are not outcasts. They're my brothers and sisters in Christ.

"I'm not going to allow my ministry to stop. I'll make disciples for Jesus Christ whenever and wherever I can."

Cox said he has ministered all over the world, in numerous denominations, and it has never before been a problem.

Attorney Wicks Stephens represents Cox and also serves as house attorney for the Anglican Communion Network, a group of churches and individuals who are leaving the Episcopal Church and aligning themselves with Anglicans worldwide.

Stephens said complaints were brought against Cox by the bishops of Oklahoma and Kansas. The Review Committee of the House of Bishops examined the complaints and ruled that they merited investigation.

After an investigation, the Review Committee issued formal charges, called a "presentment."

Stephens said the next step would be a trial before a group of bishops. If the trial is held, and charges are found to be true, discipline could range from admonishment to permanent removal from ordained ministry.

He said Cox's position is that he did not violate church law because the ordinations were performed for non-Episcopalians, who are not under the authority of the Diocese of Kansas, and were performed at the request of an Anglican primate.

Moody declined to discuss the case. His spokesman, the Rev. Canon Charles Woltz, said it was an internal disciplinary issue, and the bishop would not comment to protect the reputation of the church and the people involved.

He said the case has been "out of our hands" since it went to the House of Bishops, "who felt the charges were serious enough to bring presentment."