The largest Anglican church in Latin America — Holy Trinity
Cathedral in Recife, in the Province of Brazil — has broken away from its
diocese and become part of a Charismatic Church in the USA.
The move, one of the biggest splits in the South American Church, has been
called a breach of communion by the Bishop of Recife, the Rt Revd Edward
Robinson de Barros Cavalcanti.
The breakaway congregation, said to number about 3000, is led by the Dean, the
Very Revd Paulo Garcia, who cited “liturgical and ethical divergences” from the
positions taken by Anglican leaders.
He has publicly criticised the diocese’s decision to allow blessings for
divorcees in the Church, as well as the views of some Churches within the
Anglican Communion, and of the Archbishop of Canterbury designate, Dr Rowan
Williams, on the subject of homosexuality.
A statement released by the Anglican Communion News Service says that the
Charismatic worship style at the cathedral, where the Dean has been in office
for 27 years, has been a source of friction between the Dean and the past two
bishops. The Episcopal News Service quotes Bishop Cavalcanti as saying “Paulo
never adjusted to Anglicanism. He always had difficulty coexisting in a plural
Church.”
This week the bishops of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil sent a
pastoral letter to clerics and congregations, deploring the action of the Dean
and his congregation, and describing them as “breaking the unity of the Church
by division and schism”.
Bishop Cavalcanti has appointed a new acting Dean of the cathedral. But Dean
Garcia says he has a legal right to the property of the congregation, and that
he will not be leaving the cathedral. Bishop Cavalcanti says the building
belongs to the Anglican Church, and that he will take legal action if the Dean
refuses to go.
Before producing their pastoral letter, the bishops of Brazil had met to pray
and reflect on the situation. The letter said that the Primate of Brazil, the
Most Revd Glauco Saures had visited the Recife diocese, and would be continuing
to do so, to help the healing process.
On Tuesday, Bishop Onell Soto, the acting director of communications for the
Anglican Communion Office, said that the situation was of serious concern to
the Anglican Church worldwide.
On the same day, the General Secretary of the South American Mission Society
(SAMS), the Rt Revd David Evans, said the breakaway move had “enormous
consequences” for the region.
“It is a very worrying situation, and raises serious questions about loyalty
and relationships between bishops and deans. At SAMS, we have tried not to take
sides. The situation is not new; there have been problems for a long while.”
Dean Garcia and his congregation have joined the Charismatic Episcopal Church
group, established in 1977 in Chicago, and the Dean is expected to become its
bishop. A date for his consecration date, says Bishop Evans, is expected later
this month.