Episcopal faith journey takes Nigerian detour
The Virginian-Pilot
December 26, 2006

Almost precisely 400 years after their theological ancestors left England for Jamestown, seven Virginia Episcopal parishes have embarked on a journey the other way. The Virginia parishes are moving toward Africa, or at least toward an organizing convocation led by a conservative Nigerian archbishop.

The current churchwide schism might have been baffling to the Rev. Robert Hunt, the first priest of Jamestown, but it will be all too familiar to modern observers. The breakaway parishes have essentially joined the battle over homosexuality by sending their allegiances abroad.

The Episcopal Church, the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion, over recent years has been increasingly welcoming to homosexuals in church life, culminating in the consecration of an openly gay bishop in 2003. the rest