The dioceses of South Carolina and San Joaquin have become the third and fourth dioceses to seek alternative primatial oversight.

“The election of a new Presiding Bishop who supported [the] consecration [of the Bishop of New Hampshire], and who has advocated and permitted same-sex blessings in her diocese is another painful complication. Archbishop Williams has given his conclusion that the actions of our recent General Convention have not produced a complete response to the challenges of the Windsor Report,” the standing committee in South Carolina said in a prepared statement following a June 28 meeting.

The Bishop of San Joaquin, the Rt. Rev. John-David Schofield, does not believe that God has called women to ordained orders. The statement released by the standing committee in San Joaquin affirmed the statement made by the bishop, standing committee, and deputation of the Diocese of Fort Worth on June 19 regarding primatial oversight and reaffirmed an Anglican Communion Recognition Resolution approved by Bishop Schofield and the Diocesan Council on April 8.

“This petition envisions the continued recognition of this Diocese as a constituent member of the Anglican Communion by as many Primates and Provinces of the same, and by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who acknowledge the Diocese of San Joaquin without relying on subsidiary recognition from or through ECUSA,” the statement said in part.

The Diocese of San Joaquin is asking that oversight and pastoral care be provided by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams.

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