The Living Church recently spoke with the Rt. Rev. Peter Lee, Bishop of Virginia, about the parishes that announced Dec. 17 they were leaving the diocese and placing themselves under the oversight of the Church of Nigeria’s Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA).

TLC: How would you describe your relationship with the clergy leadership at the congregations which voted to leave last Sunday? Was there any private contact between you and the clergy after the vote? Do you feel a sense of betrayal or can you understand why they have done what they have done?

Bishop Lee: I have enjoyed a long, respectful relationship with most of them. I have not had any private contact with any of them since the vote. I’m disappointed and saddened by what has happened, but I do not feel a sense of betrayal.

TLC: Would you please elaborate on the 30-day “standstill” agreement? Is there a possibility that the “standstill” agreement might be extended?

Bishop Lee: The “standstill” agreement is designed to lower the temperature. It is designed to help us avoid litigation and explore other ways forward. There are more than two sides [to this dispute] since there are eight congregations involved. The possibility of it being renewed exists.

TLC: Will the protocol developed by the diocesan task force play any further part in negotiations with counsel for the other side? What went wrong with that approach?

Bishop Lee: The protocol represents one way forward. It doesn’t, and was never meant to, replace our constitution and canons. I think some may have read more into the protocol than was actually there.

TLC: What steps are being taken to care for the minority that wishes to remain with The Episcopal Church? Is there a large enough remnant left at any of the churches to maintain financial viability of those properties as Episcopal churches? Have clergy leaders been appointed? Will or have you appoint(ed) vestries/or the mission equivalent of vestry members, or is that step prevented under the terms of the “standstill” agreement?

Bishop Lee: We are trying to identify and reach out, and in some instances people are contacting us. We are trying to deal with each on a case-by-case basis. We don’t know the answers to a lot of specific questions at this time. The standstill agreement has to do with litigation. I shouldn’t think that offering continuing pastoral care to Episcopalians would be a matter of litigation.

TLC: Is the fact that one of the departing clergy (Martyn Minns) has been consecrated a missionary bishop a complication to a negotiated settlement from the diocese’s perspective? Are you concerned that Bishop Minns might set up a rival diocese and gain recognition from other Anglican Communion provinces? How if at all does the upcoming primates’ meeting factor into the diocese’s decision making?

Bishop Lee: Bishop Minns is an anomoly. His consecration as a bishop violates the spirit and letter of the Windsor Report, church tradition going back all the way to the Council of Nicea and to my knowledge the canons and constitution of almost every Anglican Communion province. His being a bishop is certainly a complication.

As for the primates’ meeting, we will certainly be praying for them, but their role is a conciliar one. My understanding is that recognition of new provinces is a matter for the Anglican Consultative Council, not the primates.

TLC: Other members of the diocesan staff have expressed concern that the leadership of these congregations has not done an adequate job of making the case for remaining with The Episcopal Church. Do you feel that the vote last Sunday would have turned out differently if the diocese had been allowed more time to make the case for remaining? What would you have liked to have done differently?

Bishop Lee: I don’t think there was much we could have said that would have made a difference. If you look at the 40 days of purpose material that they have published on the websites, you will see that it was all skewed toward leaving. This was not an objective process. I wish I had been more persuasive and encouraging in convincing the clergy that they had a continuing and valuable part to play in The Episcopal Church

TLC: Have you been in contact with Nigerian Archbishop Peter Akinola? Do you intend to contact him?

Bishop Lee: I have not contacted him and do not plan to. He has all he can handle running Nigeria.

TLC: Anything else that I haven’t thought to ask which you believe to be important?

Bishop Lee: We are still talking about a 10-12 percent defection. The great majority of the rest of our congregations are engaged in mission and don’t want our differences to be a cause of separation among us. Traditionally, respectful diversity has been one of the great strengths of Anglicanism. I wish they had stayed.

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