Episcopal Bishop Nathan Baxter of Central Pennsylvania was among those who voted last week for the removal of Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh from all ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church.
The bishops' successful, 88-35 vote came as the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh prepares for an Oct. 4 vote to secede from the Episcopal Church and realign with the more conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America.
Duncan has helped lead Episcopalians who believe the U.S. branch of the 77 million-member Anglican Communion has lost its commitment to Christian beliefs regarding biblical authority, sexual ethics and Jesus' divinity and mission.
In a conference call with reporters after the conclusion of the House of Bishops' meeting on Sept. 19, Baxter said it was a challenging and difficult meeting, "particularly in the sense of decisions that we had to make regarding a colleague."
"I was also moved that those who voted in different ways returned to the tables today to be with one another, that there is a spirit of commitment to being colleagues in this house," Baxter said, according to Episcopal News Service.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said on that call that the Episcopal Church will support efforts to reconstitute the Pittsburgh diocese should the upcoming vote approve realignment with the Argentina-based Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
In December, the diocese of San Joaquin, Calif., became the first to secede and realign with the Southern Cone. The House of Bishops deposed San Joaquin's Bishop David Schofield in March.
Baxter said the U.S. bishops also discussed mission work at last week's meeting in Salt Lake City -- specifically ongoing relief efforts in Texas and how to address that devastation and "help mission continue in that place."
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