Sydney elects new archbishop
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Glenn Davies, Bishop of North Sydney, was elected Archbishop of Sydney August 6, 2013, to fill the position recently vacated by the retirement of Archbishop Peter Jensen. (See Pittsburgh Update story here.) The evangelical Jensen has played a major role in the development of GAFCON and has served as General Secretary of the Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans, which appears to be positioning itself as an ultra-conservative alternative Anglican Communion. Davies was pitted against the Rev. Canon Rick Smith, a Sydney rector favored by hardline conservatives in the diocese. Church Times covered the story August 9. The official announcement of the election results can be found here.Breakaway parishes continue to appeal
VirtueOnline reported that St. James, Newport Beach, intends to file yet another appeal, this time to the May 1, 2013, court decision that awarded parish property to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. (See Pittsburgh Update story here. The final judgment of the Orange County Superior Court was entered July 23.) The breakaway congregation plans to vacate the property, as it is unable to raise the nearly $1 million bond needed to allow it to occupy the property as the appeal proceeds. The Los Angeles diocese described the current state of affairs regarding St. James here.Meanwhile, on the opposite coast, the case against The Falls Church drags on. The breakaway congregation’s request for a rehearing from the Virginia Supreme Court’s having been denied—see Pittsburgh Update story here—the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia reports that the congregation is planning to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.