``There's been a conflict in the diocese for a long time, and the bishop's response has been unsatisfactory and harmful to a lot of people,'' said Dr. Gordon Gritter, a member of the diocese's standing committee. The committee is composed of clergy and laypeople who advise the bishop.

Shimpfky this week sent the Episcopal Church's presiding bishop a letter of resignation, which takes effect March 31.

Shimpfky, 63, who has presided over the diocese since 1990, did not return calls seeking comment Friday evening.

Some are sorry to see Shimpfky go.

Janis Higginbotham, director of communication for the diocese, said Shimpfky leaves a legacy of ethnic ministry and of ordaining more women per capita than in most dioceses.

``I think the bishop is one of the finest persons I've known,'' she said. ``He's been an inspiration to so many in this diocese. He's going to be genuinely missed by many.''

Several priests within the diocese have clashed with Shimpfky on issues that range from his management style to his promotion of ethnic congregations, which they say he did not hold to the same standards as other groups.

The diocese has also shrunk under Shimpfky's leadership, from a reported 30,000 when he was consecrated in 1990 to an estimated 12,000 active members now, and shrinking donations have hurt church coffers. Many other Protestant churches have seen similar declines.

Though the standing committee had previously filed ecclesiastical charges against Shimpfky, the national headquarters of the Episcopal Church in New York rejected the charges, citing a procedural technicality. Gritter would not disclose the exact nature of the charges.

Gritter said that when it became clear to Shimpfky that the standing committee and other members of the diocese would not drop their insistence that the bishop retire, Shimpfky proposed a separation package for an unspecified amount of money and benefits. The two sides reached a compromise this week.

Rev. Jim Thomas, an associate pastor at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Saratoga, said Shimpfky had been steadily losing the respect of church members. Shimpfky fired Thomas from a diocesan post late last year -- a move that he said dismayed many in the clergy.

The standing committee will oversee the diocese until a new bishop is elected, a process that could take a year or more, said Gritter, who acknowledged that it will take even more time to heal the rift in the diocese.

``There's a strong feeling that we should not be in a hurry to choose the next bishop, so we could get a better grasp on things and have more clarity,'' Gritter said.

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Contact Sandra Gonzales at sgonzales@mercurynews.com or (408) 920-5778.