San Diego Panel Declines to Bless Incoming L.A. Episcopal Bishop

For the first time in Southern California, an Episcopal diocese has refused to give its blessing to a new bishop because it differs with his interpretation of Jesus Christ’s Resurrection.

The San Diego Episcopal diocese has failed to ratify Frederick Borsch, who is scheduled to become the Episcopal bishop of Los Angeles on June 18. Borsch currently is dean of Princeton University’s chapel and the author of several scholarly books on the New Testament.

Borsch, 52, was elected bishop in January by a convention of laymen and clergy, but he needs the consent of a majority of Episcopal dioceses nationwide before he can be ordained. It is very rare that a diocese refuses to give its consent, and Borsch is expected to easily win the approvals he needs to become bishop. Several church officials predicted that San Diego’s vote of no confidence will be the only one received from the 104 dioceses that make up the Episcopal Church.

San Diego’s diocese split over Borsch’s election after church leaders read “God’s Parable,” a book Borsch wrote in 1976. It diverges from traditionally held beliefs about Christ’s Resurrection. Borsch said he adamantly believes in Christ’s physical Resurrection but is open to interpretations that say some manifestation of Christ rather than his human body came back to life.

Different Meanings

“The term physical is going to mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people,” Borsch said in a telephone interview Saturday.

Father Steven McClaskey of San Diego’s diocese said Borsch’s beliefs on the Resurrection are part of “the erosion of Christian faith within the church.” He said Easter--the day when Christians celebrate Christ’s Resurrection--has lost its original meaning, partly because of liberal theologians.

“Easter has become today a casual holiday of cuddly bunnies, Easter egg hunts and beach outings covered with the veneer of early morning piety. This isn’t Easter. It’s spring break,” he said. McClaskey said he was worried that Borsch’s election would further that trend.

In response, Borsch said: “McClaskey apparently wanted to engage me in a theological debate and has turned it into a political campaign.”

Other members of the San Diego diocese, including Bishop Brinkley Morton, supported Borsch. “Dean Borsch is completely in the right as far as I’m concerned and the people who voted against him are completely wrong,” said James Carroll, dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral and one of four San Diego committee members who ratified Borsch’s election. “It is unfortunate to push someone to the wall to say they believe in the physical Resurrection of Jesus.”

The vote was made by a diocese committee--four clerics including McClaskey and four laymen--on March 15. They deliberated for a week but remained deadlocked at 4 to 4, which automatically means they could not give Borsch their consent. They did not announce their decision.

Biblical scholars said San Diego’s refusal to ratify Borsch’s ordainment points up a growing rift between conservative theologians and more-liberal clergy such as Borsch. Ronald Hock, an associate professor of religion at the University of Southern California, said: “The conservatives right now are getting the upper hand and this is good evidence of that. There is an attempt to hold the line on some conservative religious doctrine.”

To Head Large Diocese

Carroll said the diocese’s decision would not sully the relationship between the two dioceses. Borsch will oversee more than 200 clerics and 80,000 baptized members. The diocese, covering Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara counties and a portion of Riverside County, is the fifth largest diocese in the country.

Borsch already has said he will be vocal on issues such as AIDS, poverty, homelessness and help for undocumented immigrants. Only a week after his election, he said he would consider the application of a transsexual to form her own religious community and become a sister in the Episcopal Church.