LANHAM, Maryland - A conservative priest who sparred with his bishop through a long court battle has quit the Episcopal Church and joined a breakaway group, claiming his former church has strayed too far from its theological roots.
The Rev. Samuel Edwards said Thursday that he will start a southern Maryland "mission" church for the Anglican Province of Christ the King, an Episcopal splinter organization.
"The Episcopal Church is now not in the pursuit of the truth but the acquisition of power," Edwards said. "It seems hard set on a course that is carrying it away from traditional Christian faith and life."
The conflict exemplified the deep divisions between conservatives and the hierarchy of the 2.2-million member Episcopal Church USA.
Parish leaders picked Edwards as their rector in December 2000, despite objections from the former acting bishop of Washington, Jane Holmes Dixon, about his political views. Edwards opposes the Episcopal Church's practice of ordaining women and its liberal view of homosexuality and has written that it is "hell-bound."
Edwards' decision to leave follows a court battle between members of the tiny Christ Church parish in Accokeek and Dixon over whether Edwards could serve as rector at the church.
Dixon, who feared Edwards would split Christ Church from the diocese, had refused to approve his appointment. That conflict culminated in a dramatic Sunday visit by Dixon to Christ Church last May, where she was barred from preaching by church members.
Dixon filed suit in federal court and won. The judge evicted Edwards from Christ Church and upheld Dixon's authority to remove him, a decision that was later upheld by a federal appeals court.
Edwards said Dixon's suit against him was an attempt to demonstrate that bishops have ultimate and unquestionable authority within their diocese.
He joins a growing number of conservative parishes and priests that have split from the Episcopal Church and aligned with the traditional beliefs of its parent church, the 77 million-member worldwide Anglican Communion.
A spokeswoman for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, which oversees Christ Church, refused to comment on Edwards' decision.
Edwards said he has about 25 families interested in his new mission, but was unsure if any members of Christ Church would join. Barbara Sturman, senior warden at Christ Church, would not comment on whether any church members would follow Edwards.