Congregation Leaves Episcopal Church

A growing and affluent congregation here has severed ties with the Episcopal Church, citing displeasure with what it views as the weakened moral stance of the 2.4-million-member denomination.

The congregation, one of the area’s fastest-growing, is the second to take such a step since the denomination’s General Convention met in Phoenix in July.

The church’s rector, the Rev. Michael Youssef, said he concluded that the congregation should leave the Episcopal Church “after a lot of fasting and prayer and the conviction that we are no longer capable of making an impact on the church.”

Actions of the General Convention angered many in the denomination’s traditionalist camp, and observers say church officials are holding their collective breath as they wait to see whether that discontent will lead to a major split in the church.