WASHINGTON - The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia on Saturday consecrated the Very Rev. Shannon S. Johnston as bishop coadjutor in a ceremony long on music and short on discussion of the issues that have roiled the diocese over the last few years.
As bishop coadjutor, Johnston will be next in line to lead the 195-congregation diocese when the Rt. Rev. Peter J. Lee retires.Johnston is the former rector of All Saints' Episcopal Church in Tupelo, Miss., is going from a 20,000-member diocese with strong roots in the civil rights era, to a 90,000-member gathering that traces its origins back to the original English settlers. In Mississippi, he wrangled one church split largely over pastoral leadership; in Virginia, he'll manage an entire diocese debating a fundamental tenet of faith.
There was no direct mention Saturday of the schism that has split the faith since the 2003 consecration of the first openly gay bishop, New Hampshire's V. Gene Robinson. Conservative Episcopalians - mostly overseas - have called the American church's growing acceptance of gay relationships a "satanic attack" on the denomination, and organized to form a rival denomination in the U.S. under Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria.
The break led 13 Virginia churches to split from the U.S. church, including two of the state's most prominent and largest Episcopal parishes: Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church.
Alexander spent most of his sermon comparing Johnston to Augustine of Canterbury, who's credited with bringing Christianity to England.
Alexander stopped short of discussing specific issues, though he did say Johnston would make a good advocate for people facing "unrighteous discrimination because they are differently blessed."
The coadjutor position will allow the diocese time to prepare one bishop to succeed another.
Lee, diocesan bishop since 1985, must retire by the time he turns 72, in 2010. Between now and then, he's charged with teaching Johnston how to run the diocese.
