20 defrocked priests dismiss bishop's order
ASSOCIATED PRESS
August 4, 2007

McLEAN, Va. — Conservative priests reacted dismissively to an announcement by Virginia Episcopal Bishop Peter J. Lee that he was defrocking them for abandoning the church in a dispute over theological interpretations, church authority and homosexuality.

The 20 priests affected by Bishop Lee's announcement said yesterday that Bishop Lee can't defrock them because they are no longer under his authority. They compared his actions, announced Thursday, to firing an employee who has already quit.

"The reality is, it doesn't have much effect on us," said the Rev. Jack Grubbs, rector of Potomac Falls Church in Sterling, Va., one of 19 Virginia churches that has split from the Episcopal Church and sought to realign under more conservative Anglican bishops in Africa. the rest