TEC threatens Bishop David Bena for transferring to Anglican Province

BB NOTE: Steve Waring reports in the The Living Church that Bishop Dave Bena, formerly the Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Albany and now Suffragan Bishop in CANA for the Anglican District of Virginia, is facing a disciplinary investigation by the Episcopal Church. You can read the whole thing here.

Who says there is no division? Are they out getting a sandwich? One gets the sense that the Episcopal leadership (and their lawyers) will decide there's been a division once they have no one left to put on trial. Next?

Here are excerpts from The Living Church article "Disciplinary Action Proceeding Against Three Resigned Bishops," by intrepid reporter, Steve Waring:

The House of Bishops is proceeding with disciplinary action against three of the six bishops who have resigned from The Episcopal Church during the past year. The bishops were briefed on active cases during an executive session of the fall meeting held Sept. 20-25 in New Orleans ...

...Disciplinary investigations of the Rt. Rev. Andrew Fairfield, retired Bishop of North Dakota, and the Rt. Rev. David Bena, former Bishop Suffragan of Albany, are in process. Last June, Bishop Fairfield transferred to the Church of Uganda. Shortly before his own renunciation last January, the Rt. Rev. Daniel Herzog, former Bishop of Albany, approved the transfer of Bishop Bena’s episcopal orders to the Anglican Church of Nigeria. Like Bishop Herzog, the Rt. Rev. Clarence Pope, retired Bishop of Fort Worth, and the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey N. Steenson, Bishop of the Rio Grande, renounced and subsequently sought to join the Roman Catholic Church. The canons of The Episcopal Church require bishops to receive permission to resign from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction. Bishops Herzog, Pope and Steenson did request and receive such approval. Bishops Bena, Cox and Fairfield wrote Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori informing her of their transfers, but they did not request approval for their actions from the House of Bishops ...

...Unlike priests, bishops cannot be found guilty of abandonment of communion without a trial. According to Title 4, Canon 9, section 1(iii), in order for inhibition and a trial to proceed, the Presiding Bishop must receive the unanimous endorsement of the three most senior bishops with jurisdiction before the accused bishop can be inhibited from performing ordained ministry functions. The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop of Southeast Florida, the Rt. Rev. Peter J. Lee, Bishop of Virginia and the Rt. Rev. Don A. Wimberly, Bishop of Texas, currently have the longest tenure in the House of Bishops.

Bishop Lee, huh? Not that he has a conflict of interest or anything.