| Diocese of the Holy Cross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Classification | Continuing Anglican |
| Orientation | Anglo-Catholic |
| Polity | Episcopal |
| Bishop | Paul Hewett |
| Associations | Intercommunion withAnglican Church in America, and theAnglican Province of America since 2017 |
| Region | United States |
| Origin | 2003 |
| Separated from | Anglican Province of Christ the King |
| Merged into | Anglican Catholic Church |
| Official website | www |
TheDiocese of the Holy Cross (DHC) is a constituentdiocese of theAnglican Catholic Church, acontinuing Anglican church body in the United States. Unlike most dioceses, it is not geographically defined.[1]
The DHC was formed by clergy and parishes belonging to theAnglican Province of Christ the King (APCK). On March 5, 2003, Ash Wednesday, the Diocese of the Holy Cross seceded from theAnglican Province of Christ the King over questions surrounding the successor ofRobert S. Morse, James Provence, following a disagreement with the APCK over the election of a divorced and remarried priest to be a bishop in the church.[2][3]
The diocese's founding bishop, Robert Waggener, unsuccessfully sought to lead the diocese into theEastern Orthodox Church. Meeting with little support, Waggener left Anglicanism to become a Western-Rite Orthodox priest in theAntiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.[4]
The DHC became a member of theFederation of Anglican Churches in the Americas,[5][6] ofForward in Faith UK, and maintains friendly relations with other continuing churches.[7]
In response to the Apostolic Constitution for aPersonal Ordinariate, Bishop Paul Hewett characterized the initiative as "generous, courageous, creative and unprecedented" but determined that the offer needed careful discernment and that it should not be a distraction from "the vital work of setting our own house in order."[8]
In January 2016, theAnglican Catholic Church, theAnglican Church in America, theAnglican Province of America, and the Diocese of the Holy Cross reached a formal accord. Forming the Anglican Joint Synods, a "Group of 4" churches, called the G-4, pursuing eventual corporate unity.[9]
On October 6, 2017, at a joint synod inAtlanta, Georgia, the primates of the Anglican Province of America, the Anglican Church in America, the Anglican Catholic Church, and the Diocese of the Holy Cross signed a concordat of full communion, pledging to pursue full, institutional, and organic union.[10][11]
On September 23, 2021, the Diocese of the Holy Cross voted to join the Anglican Catholic Church as a non-geographical diocese.[12] Upon immediate acceptance, the DHC became a constituent diocese of theAnglican Catholic Church.[13]
The diocese currently has 18 parishes and missions in 10U.S. states.[14]
The current bishop of the Diocese of the Holy Cross is Paul Hewett,SSC, who was consecrated on December 4, 2004.[2] Hewett had been a priest in the Episcopal Church until 1978, when he was deposed for aligning withAlbert Chambers and theContinuing Anglican movement.[15] Bishop Hewett's father, Rev. Clayton Hewett had also been an early supporter of the Continuing Anglican Movement.[16] Bishop Hewett is based at the Anglican Cathedral Church of the Epiphany,Columbia, South Carolina. The assisting bishop is Timothy Farmer, former rector of St. Francis' Church, Spartanburg, South Carolina.[17] Until his death in 2009, Patrick Murphy served as retired bishop in residence and rector of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Houston, Texas.[18]
The bishop is assisted by a Standing Committee consisting of clergy and laypersons.[19]
Its members currently consist of:[19]
TheAnglican Fellowship of the Delaware Valley, so named because it encompassed Anglican churches and missions within the Delaware Valley, was formed in 2003 and was led by Bishop Paul C. Hewett. It was an association of Anglican churches in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey that subscribed to theAffirmation of St. Louis and affiliated withForward in Faith-UK.[20] In 2005, the Anglican Fellowship of the Delaware Valley sponsored the conferenceThe Affirmation of St. Louis: Seeking a Path to Reconciliation and Unity, which brought together traditionalists in the Episcopal Church and members of the continuing movement to discuss a path to jurisdictional unity.[21] The Fellowship continues to organize local events. Alice C. Linsley gave a lecture on April 19, 2023 titled "How the Binary Reasoning of the Bible Informs Christian Morality and Ethics."[22]
The official newsletter, theFortnightly, is published bi-weekly by Bishop Hewett.
