The Rev. Gil Wilkes, rector of Christ and Epiphany in East Haven said the central issue was their disagreement with the diocese and the Episcopal Church over Scriptural authority and their departure from it.

"We have each independently and together maintained throughout that we have not broken communion and we have asked on repeated occasions for the bishop to specify the offenses against us, and he has not done so," said Wilkes. The Rev. Don Helmandollar rector of Trinity Church, Bristol, echoed that the issue was one of Scriptural authority.

"The Standing Committee has decided we are out of communion but have done so without speaking to any of us. We have had no input on the canonical responsibility that the Standing Committee has to ascertain and consider the facts. They have not seen fit to consult with any one of us, only the bishop has been in touch with us by letter and he has not addressed the issues we have raised with him," said Wilkes.

"We have been talking directly to the issues of adequate episcopal oversight. The Bishop, on the other hand, has demanded absolute fealty to himself without addressing any of our issues and needs."

The six rectors say they have requested, on multiple occasions, adequate episcopal oversight because of the actions of General Convention 2003 to allow an openly homoerotic priest to be ordained to the episcopacy and by Bishop Smith's participation in that controversial consecration. The six say he has broken communion with them by his actions in defying the Primates of the Anglican Communion which told The Episcopal Church that it should not proceed with the ordination of an avowed homosexual to the episcopacy.

Bishop Smith had offered the priests Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO), or return to oversight by the diocesan bishops. He has also demanded they pay their full assessment.

The six clergy say they have not been informed of the grounds for inhibition and they have demanded, through their attorneys, the nature of their status and grounds for the charges made by the bishop. All six deny they have abandoned the communion of the church. "The Canons require that such charges be stated and he has not done so," said the Rev. Mark Hansen of St. John's, Bristol.

He has given us two weeks or he will decapitate the parish priests allowing him to put his own people in to run the parishes, said Hansen.

The Rev. Ron Gauss, a converted Jew and rector of Bishop Seabury Church in Groton told VirtueOnline, that since he requested DEPO he has never been out of the oversight of the bishops of Connecticut nor has he refused them access to his parish. He also said that Bishop Seabury has NEVER failed to meet its financial obligations to the diocese, even though 31 parishes of the diocese have given nothing of their operating budget to the diocese. "I have sent him the money that I can legally send him."

The Rev. Christopher Leighton, St. Paul's, Darien, a charismatic parish and one of the largest in the diocese, echoing much the same theme, wrote to the bishop saying that there was no agreement between them concerning DEPO.

"We are greatly disturbed by the increasing pressure and threats that have been made against the rector and the parish of St. Paul's by the bishop despite the entreaties of the Primates, the leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion, to "protect the integrity and legitimate needs of groups in serious theological dispute with their diocesan bishop."

Leighton also reiterated that he had never departed from the full oversight of the Bishops of Connecticut despite the significant theological differences that exist between them. "We agree that the Bishops of Connecticut have canonical responsibilities to "guard the faith, unity and discipline of the Church."

"The central question before us is the conclusion recently reached by the Primates of the Anglican Communion that directly assigned to the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA, and those Bishops acting in concert with him, the culpability for acting in a way that severely undermines all three of those responsibilities. These actions have jeopardized the on-going relationship of St. Paul's, the Diocese of Connecticut and ECUSA with the worldwide Anglican Communion."

Leighton said it was vital that the public be made aware in the clearest possible way of our position. "We note that the Primates of the Anglican Communion have issued a Communiqué, signed by the Presiding Bishop of ECUSA, Frank Griswold that recognizes DEPO is inadequate. (The Connecticut version of DEPO, based on the plan recommended by the U.S. House of Bishops, is also inadequate). It is necessary to meet and discuss the immediate need for the Panel of Reference, as contemplated by the Primates' Communiqué."

Leighton said the Bishop's offers of pastoral care had fallen woefully short of what would be deemed adequate given the crisis confronting the church in Connecticut, the country, and across the Anglican Communion. "The current crisis was not precipitated by any falling away from the faith by St. Paul's, but rather, by the actions of the General Convention of 2003, and by the Bishop's participation in the controversial consecration of V. Gene Robinson."

The Primates have called for a Panel of Reference to ensure that parishes such as St. Paul's receive adequate oversight. That would seem to us to be a more appropriate and gracious path to follow, and one that we can hope and be confident would result in a greater measure of progress and good will throughout the communion.

Responding to the priests, Bishop Smith wrote; "We have served together for many years, my clear desire is for the parishes to remain in communion and for us to continue to serve Christ together. I offer you a meeting for reconciliation with the church before April 15."

"We are united and we intend to respond through appropriate channels," said the Rev. Gil Wilkes.

END