The five priests were recently inhibited with threats to depose them, removing them from their pulpits and take their properties away from them when they upped and left the diocese and The Episcopal Church over the Episcopal Church's departure from the historic faith. All three cases are now in the hands of attorneys and will go before the courts.

What Beckwith is saying is that Bruno has created this crisis in his diocese by both his vote at General Convention last summer and officiating recently at the same-sex blessing of one of his priests and, thereby not standing with the rest of the Anglican Communion on sexuality issues. He will both recognize and support their ordained ministries.

This stand, taken by Bishop Beckwith, echoes a growing insurgency by orthodox bishops in The Episcopal Church who are increasingly prepared to stand up and challenge revisionist bishops as they attempt to use the canons to dismember and destroy orthodox parish priests in the name of General Convention innovations and their revisionist god.

Bishop Beckwith, while facing a sporadic and rather pathetic barrage of opposition from the Via Media in his own diocese, clearly intends to become more active in his opposition to what is happening in the Episcopal Church. "I will not be silent in the face of what is going on in my beloved church," he told Virtuosity recently. "A line has been drawn and I am committed to the orthodoxy of our faith within which true unity only can exist."

On March of this year five senior bishops and a Brazilian bishop crossed diocesan lines and confirmed 110 at an unprecedented and historic service in the Diocese of Ohio at a multi-congregational Service of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist representing five Episcopal churches and one Anglican church plant.

Virtuosity has learned that this will be repeated as revisionist bishops continue to repudiate the 'faith once delivered' and find the lines being more sharply drawn with faithful orthodox bishops.

END

THE LETTER FROM BISHOP BECKWITH

The Rt. Rev. J. Jon Bruno,
Bishop Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles
P.O. Box 512164
Los Angeles, CA 90051-0164

Dear Jon:

As you appear to be scrambling about how to deal with a situation in your diocese created by General Convention a year ago and seriously exacerbated by you having ignored the appeals of Archbishops Williams and Eames and launched out on your own rather recent, appallingly inappropriate, non-geographical boundary violation, I would have you entertain a significant piece of reality. You no longer have jurisdiction over the Reverends Adams, Bunyan, Menees, Poch, and Thompson.

In addition, please be informed that since the Reverends Adams, Bunyan, Menees, Poch and Thompson are clergy in good standing in the Anglican Communion, I herewith am licensing them to function in the Diocese of Springfield.

Faithfully in Christ,

Peter H. Beckwith
Diocese of Springfield

Copy to:

The Rev. Kathleen Adams;
The Rev. Praveen Bunyan;
The Rev. Richard Menees;
The Rev. Jose Poch;
The Rev. William A. Thompson;

The Rt. Rev. Evans M. Kisekka, Bishop of Luweero;

The Most Rev. Henry Orombi, Archbishop of the Province of Uganda;
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding Bishop, ECUSA;
The Most Rev. Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury.

END