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The Open Episcopal Church (OEC) is a growing liberal Catholic denomination that calls itself "the small church with a big heart". It has bishops in England and Wales and clergy throughout the United Kingdom, in Thailand and the United States. It has ministered to hundreds of thousands of people and has over 29,000 members.〔(Members )〕 The church is a vocal and active champion of religious equality and was the first in Britain to ordain a woman bishop and to perform religious wedding ceremonies for gay couples. The OEC is a member of the International Council of Community Churches, which in turn is a member of The World Council of Churches and Churches Uniting in Christ. == Founding of the Society for Independent Christian Ministry == In 1994 the Reverend Jonathan Blake, who had been a priest in the Church of England for over 12 years, effected a Deed of Relinquishment,〔http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/33-34/91/section/3〕 severing his denominational ties. He felt he had encountered the limitations of institutional ministry and left the Church of England in order to pursue his priestly vocation independently. As an independent priest〔(The Independent - on 'Country's first freelance vicar'. )〕 he offers sacramental ministry to all. In 1997 he wrote about these experiences in his book, ''For God's Sake Don't Go To Church''.〔For God's Sake Don't Go To Church ISBN 0-85305-446-0 Published by Arthur James.〕 The same year he nailed 95 theses 〔(95 Theses )〕 to the door of Canterbury Cathedral, for which he was arrested but not charged. A lesbian from the north of England arranged to meet Blake after reading his book. She felt a call to the ministry but had been rebuffed by the church over her sexuality and was interested in independent ministry. Following the meeting Blake placed an advert in the ''Church Times'' inviting all those interested in such a ministry to a conference the following March. Over 100 people contacted him, among them Bishop Richard Palmer,〔(Bishop Richard Palmer )〕 who had been consecrated as a bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church in 1997 but had resigned in April 1999. Together they explored the need for a new simple but authentic ecclesiastical structure which could serve those deprived access to ordination by traditional denominations. This structure would enshrine the principles of unconditional love and inclusivity. Blake wrote the Founding Principles〔(The Founding Principles )〕 of the Society for Independent Christian Ministry (SICM), which was inaugurated by a group of Christians reciting the Lord’s Prayer in the Sanctum of the Holy Circle Trust〔The Holy Circle Trust. Charity Number 1066062〕 near Ryarsh in Kent at sunrise on 1 January 2000. It paved the way for a conference held in Dartford three months later and the first ordinations into the society, which took place at Hall Place in Bexleyheath. These first ordinations were simple, involving all the members present laying hands on each other. However, because a bishop was present, the question arose of whether these were episcopal or congregational ordinations. It proved to become a difficult question, as did the issue of homosexuality. When the society gathered in Preston the following November, for the second gathering, its numbers had been increased by two groups. The first were from more Catholic backgrounds and seeking episcopal ordination. The second group were from more evangelical backgrounds and some of them found the presence of homosexual clergy unsettling. At Preston the society affirmed its belief that sexual identity was not an obstacle to ordination and this caused some to leave. The debate about ordination proved more complex. It became clear that there was a need for an ecclesial structure that mirrored the principles of SICM but followed the apostolic threefold order of ministry. Bishop Palmer elected Blake to the episcopate and he was consecrated in December 2000, a Bishop in the Province for Open Episcopal Ministry and Jurisdiction. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Open Episcopal Church」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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