Bishop Haynsworth Resigns In Nicaragua
Episcopal News Service. March 8, 1979 [79072]
Managua, Nicaragua -- The Rt. Rev. G. Edward Haynsworth, Bishop of Nicaragua since 1969, has submitted his resignation for reasons of "missionary strategy" to be effective April 1.
Bishop Haynsworth plans to establish residence in nearby San Salvador, El Salvador, where he is Bishop-in-Charge. He will continue to oversee the missionary work of the Church in Nicaragua until a new bishop is elected and consecrated.
Bishop Haynsworth, 56, was born in Sumter, S. C. and is a graduate of the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. After serving churches in South Carolina and Georgia for almost ten years, he went to Central America in 1958 where he has been a missionary since then.
According to the canons of the Episcopal Church, a majority of the consents of the bishops with jurisdiction is necessary before the resignation can be accepted. The office of the Presiding Bishop John M. Allin in New York, has reported that such a majority has been received.
The Diocesan Council of Nicaragua accepted the resignation with "regretful understanding" and praised Bishop Haynsworth for his "untiring leadership" that has made the Episcopal Church in Nicaragua a "viable and permanent diocese in the Latin American Church."
In El Salvador, Bishop Haynsworth plans to continue episcopal oversight and to develop the necessary ministry until a new bishop can be elected for that jurisdiction.
Bishop Haynsworth is the only remaining American bishop in charge of an overseas missionary jurisdiction.