The vestry of St. Andrew's Church, Morehead City, N.C., has written to the Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, Bishop of East Carolina, to notify him of the vestry's unanimous decision to withdraw from the diocese and from the Episcopal Church.

The Rev. C. King Cole, rector of St. Andrew's, said, "The reason we've done what we've done is because of a crisis of leadership in the Episcopal Church which has failed to hold the church within any sense of historical orthodoxy and biblical authority. The leadership in the church seems unwilling and unable to hold itself accountable. For instance, a Jack Spong is able to deny every tenet of the faith while those who see themselves as biblically conservative are the only ones to be held accountable."

The parish, now calling itself St. Andrew's Anglican Church, is aligning itself with the "Interim Anglican Expression in the United States" under the leadership of the Rt. Rev. Chuck Murphy and the Most Rev. Emmanuel Kolini, Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of the Province of Rwanda and Bishop of Kigali.

In its March 12 letter, the vestry claims ownership to the "properties and real goods" of the parish and leaves to Bishop Daniel the decision as to "whether our move is contested or amiable ... We are willing for you to announce that we are separating at your suggestion."

No such announcement was forthcoming in the bishop's letter to the diocese or in the diocesan news release. Bishop Daniel did write in his letter, "It is my theological and canonical belief that it is possible for an individual to leave the Episcopal Church, but it is not possible for a congregation to leave union with our diocese upon the vote of their vestry."

When asked specifically if the diocese would contest the property ownership claim, the Rev. Canon Matthew E. Stockard, spokesman for the diocese, told TLC he was "not really willing or able to make any (comment) other than that we are seeking the best possible solution for all parties concerned."