In 2003, after openly-gay priest Gene Robinson became the Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire, many congregations began breaking away from the church in protest and realigning with conservative African bishops. Now they're coalescing into the Anglican Church in North America. Bishop Martyn Minns spoke about it with NEWSWEEK's Matthew Philips.
Does Jesus care if you report to Africa?
Jesus cares about all things, so yes. But that presumes I do report to Africa. I'm a bishop in the Church of Nigeria, but it's not that kind of relationship. In the early days, the church was less segregated than today. We're breaking that down.
Isn't this process making it more segregated?
No. We preach across lines of race, class and geography.
But not sexuality?
God's love can change us all.
Is homosexuality a sin?
It's clearly sinful. It leads to brokenness.
But aren't you abetting that brokenness by splitting away?
The church drew a line in the sand hundreds of years ago. The Episcopal Church stepped over it. It's naive to say that by being nice to each other we can avoid issues of sin.
How does winning look to you?
Maintaining our integrity. It does not look like big offices in Manhattan.
Are you referring to the Episcopal Church's headquarters?
Not necessarily. It's just that I'm more interested in people than in building institutions.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
