VOA标准英语2012--Episcopal Church, Breakaway Anglicans Fight Over Property

Episcopal Church, Breakaway Anglicans Fight Over Property

Outside the U.S. capital stands a red brick church with white wooden pews where George Washington served as a vestryman, or lay leader. The Falls Church was founded in 1732 and even gave its name to the well-to-do suburb where the church is located in northern Virginia.

But in recent years, The Falls Church has become a symbol of a division in the Episcopal Church, a Christian¹ denomination² that has given the United States more presidents than any other, and a good share of the country's Anglo-Saxon Protestant elite³.

The rupture⁴ came after an openly gay man was consecrated⁵ as Episcopal bishop⁶ of New Hampshire in 2004. The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and The Falls Church was one of many congregations that broke from the U.S. church by aligning⁷ with conservative Anglican provinces in Africa and South America. 

The Reverend John Yates, rector of The Falls Church, says the break was not only over the consecration⁹ of the Rt. Rev⁸. Gene¹⁰ Robinson. He says broad disagreements over scripture¹¹ stretched back to the 1960s, with the Episcopal leadership becoming "looser and looser in terms of the range of theological thinking" as well as "the range of what is acceptable morally." 

But under Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the national Episcopal Church has filed lawsuits¹² to claim ownership of the often valuable properties of breakaway congregations. And it has won cases in Connecticut and Georgia.

In northern Virginia, The Falls Church and six other breakaway churches - whose property is valued at $40 million - became the subject of a prolonged court battle. In January, a Virginia judge ruled in favor of the Episcopal Church and The Falls Church congregation now has until April 30 to move out of the old church and the new additions. 

"The buildings were built by us. I had raised a lot of the money. I remember when we burned the mortgage to pay for the most recent building that we had built," Yates says. He says that the actions of the Episcopal leadership were "very hard to understand." 

"No rector, no congregation, ever owns the property," says the Very Reverend Ian Markham, dean of the Virginia Theological Seminary, the largest Episcopal divinity school in the United States.

"Just because I am a deeply charismatic preacher and teacher inside a congregation, am I allowed to suddenly wake up one morning - having mesmerized¹³ my congregation - and say, 'Hey guys, let's take this parish hall and the church and everything else out of the Episcopal church?' That's not our policy," says Markham. 

The Episcopal Church may have won in court, but it has been losing in the pews. Its membership has been declining, like that of many other mainline Protestant denominations¹⁵, and two years ago it dipped below 2 million people for the first time.

Roger Ferlo is a professor of religion and culture at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He spent a decade as the rector of a New York City church in Greenwich Village, a neighborhood with many homosexuals. Ferlo says half of the 400 people in his church were gay or lesbian.

"These were faithful people," Ferlo says. "I wasn't going to be the policeman at the door asking them who they slept with before they could worship God." 

Ferlo says human sexuality has changed since biblical times, and he rejects Yates' assertion that the Episcopal church has deviated¹⁶ from scripture.

"So much of this masks itself as theological dispute but is in fact deeply social and economic. It's no accident that the breakaway churches are actually quite affluent¹⁷, and that many of them have conservative values that are way beyond the issues of religion," Ferlo adds. 

He predicts Episcopalianism will bounce back from the crisis because it offers a blend of tradition, scripture and reason that will be meaningful for the next generation. 

"What heartens me teaching in a place like this is that I've got full classes, and half my students are under 35," Ferlo notes. 

In Ferlo's seminar on liturgical¹⁸ theology, a dozen students recently analyzed¹⁹ the ceremonial rituals that surround the Super Bowl, the American football championship game. One of the class members was Melanie Mullen, 37, an African-American with an infectious smile. Growing up in North Carolina, she went to a Presbyterian church every Sunday. 

"I had a hard time thinking of a God that didn't like my gay and lesbian friends," she says, explaining why she drifted away. 

But several years ago she joined an Episcopal church in a neighborhood with many homosexuals, and decided²⁰ to become a priest. 

"The idea that the Episcopal Church was in a scandal, taking a stand for gay rights, was actually appealing to me and to a lot of my friends," she says. 

Virtually all mainline Protestant denominations in the United States have had extended internal conflicts over the issue of homosexuals in the church, says David Roozen of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research. In Virginia, the breakup ended up costing the congregations millions of dollars and fracturing a number of close friendships. But Roozen sees a silver lining¹⁴. 

"As peculiar²¹ as it would sound, I think it was a good thing," he says. "So much energy was going into fighting each other. It was consuming so many resources that should have been going into other challenges."

On a recent Sunday, Yates preached a sermon in which he addressed the congregation's anger over the outcome of the court case.

"It's understandable to lose all patience and simply want God to step in and make things right," he told them. 

After hearing the sermon, Sharon Knight²², a member of The Falls Church, says losing the historic church is a price the congregation is willing to pay to be true to its conservative beliefs.

"Well, our faith isn't in the buildings," she says. "It's in God." 

1 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

2 denomination   

n.命名，取名，(度量衡、货币等的)单位

参考例句：

• The firm is still operating under another denomination.这家公司改用了名称仍在继续营业。
• Litre is a metric denomination.升是公制单位。

3 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

4 rupture   

n.破裂；(关系的)决裂；v.(使)破裂

参考例句：

• I can rupture a rule for a friend.我可以为朋友破一次例。
• The rupture of a blood vessel usually cause the mark of a bruise.血管的突然破裂往往会造成外伤的痕迹。

5 consecrated   

adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献

参考例句：

• The church was consecrated in 1853. 这座教堂于1853年祝圣。
• They consecrated a temple to their god. 他们把庙奉献给神。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 bishop   

n.主教，（国际象棋）象

参考例句：

• He was a bishop who was held in reverence by all.他是一位被大家都尊敬的主教。
• Two years after his death the bishop was canonised.主教逝世两年后被正式封为圣者。

7 aligning   

n. (直线)对准 动词align的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• There are signs that the prime minister is aligning himself with the liberals. 有迹象表明首相正在与自由党人结盟。
• ToolTips provide textual hints that assist in drawing lines and aligning objects. 工具提示提供了协助画线和对象对齐的文本提示。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 rev   

v.发动机旋转，加快速度

参考例句：

• It's his job to rev up the audience before the show starts.他要负责在表演开始前鼓动观众的热情。
• Don't rev the engine so hard.别让发动机转得太快。

9 consecration   

n.供献，奉献，献祭仪式

参考例句：

• "What we did had a consecration of its own. “我们的所作所为其本身是一种神圣的贡献。 来自英汉文学 - 红字
• If you do add Consecration or healing, your mana drop down lower. 如果你用了奉献或者治疗，你的蓝将会慢慢下降。 来自互联网

10 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

11 scripture   

n.经文，圣书，手稿；Scripture:(常用复数)《圣经》，《圣经》中的一段

参考例句：

• The scripture states that God did not want us to be alone.圣经指出上帝并不是想让我们独身一人生活。
• They invoked Hindu scripture to justify their position.他们援引印度教的经文为他们的立场辩护。

12 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

13 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

14 lining   

n.衬里，衬料

参考例句：

• The lining of my coat is torn.我的外套衬里破了。
• Moss makes an attractive lining to wire baskets.用苔藓垫在铁丝篮里很漂亮。

15 denominations   

n.宗派( denomination的名词复数 )；教派；面额；名称

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• The service was attended by Christians of all denominations. 这次礼拜仪式各教派的基督徒都参加了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 deviated   

v.偏离，越轨( deviate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• On this occasion the plane deviated from its usual flight path. 这一次那架飞机偏离了正常的航线。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His statements sometimes deviated from the truth. 他的陈述有时偏离事实。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 affluent   

adj.富裕的，富有的，丰富的，富饶的

参考例句：

• He hails from an affluent background.他出身于一个富有的家庭。
• His parents were very affluent.他的父母很富裕。

18 liturgical   

adj.礼拜仪式的

参考例句：

• This period corresponds with the liturgical season of Christmas.这个时期与圣诞节的礼拜季节相一致。
• This is a book of liturgical forms.这是一本关于礼拜仪式的书。

19 analyzed   

v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 )；分解；解释；对…进行心理分析

参考例句：

• The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程，因为对他来说，爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

21 peculiar   

adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的

参考例句：

• He walks in a peculiar fashion.他走路的样子很奇特。
• He looked at me with a very peculiar expression.他用一种很奇怪的表情看着我。

22 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。