FRESNO -- The Central California Diocese of San Joaquin today became the first in the nation to secede from the Episcopal Church, taking the historic, risky step as part of a years-long struggle within the church and global Anglican Communion over homosexuality and biblical authority.

Clergy and lay members of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin voted 173-22 at their annual convention to remove all references to the national church from the diocese's constitution, said the Rev. Van McCalister, a diocesan spokesman.

The diocese, based in Fresno, plans to align with the like-minded Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, based in South America and headed by Archbishop Gregory James Venables of Argentina.

Delegates told the Fesno Bee that they voted to break away from the church because it allows the blessing of same-sex unions, the ordination of gay bishops and the ordination of women.

The diocese's leader, Bishop John-David M. Schofield, said he was elated by the decisions.

"I'm thrilled, thrilled," he said, saying the vote was about freedom for theological traditionalists to find a new home.

The actions came after years of growing tension within the Episcopal Church over the U.S. church's comparatively liberal views on issues of sexuality and theology. In 2003, the divide between theological liberals and conservatives deepened dramatically when the Episcopal Church consecrated a partnered gay priest, V. Gene Robinson, as bishop of New Hampshire.

Clergy delegates at the convention voted 70-12 to break away and lay delegates voted 103-10 in support of the move.

The overwhelming approval by convention delegates to break ties to the Episcopal Church could set the stage for dissident Episcopalians to try to set up their own rival national church in the United States. And it could push the 77-million member Anglican Communion, the world's third-largest Christian denomination, to the brink of fracture.

While individual parishes in the US have broken their ties with the Church, the fact that a whole diocese has now taken this step realizes the fears of those who have predicted that the Anglican Communion would unravel.

Nationally, about 55 conservative Episcopal parishes, out of more than 7,000 around the country, have split off from the church in the last few years, and some have affiliated directly with Anglican provinces overseas, according to national church statistics. Courts have mostly ruled against allowing the breakaway congregations to take their property when they go.

Three other dioceses have taken initial steps toward splitting from the U.S. church. They are Fort Worth, Texas; Quincy, Ill.; and Pittsburgh.

The Fresno decision is almost certain to spark a court fight over control of the diocese's multimillion-dollar real estate holdings and other assets. The vote also leaves in question the status of the five or so parishes in the San Joaquin diocese that wish to remain aligned with the Episcopal Church. Local clergy who agree to leave could lose their ministerial credentials and their pensions.

The Episcopal Church is the U.S. member of the global Anglican Communion, a 77 million-member fellowship that traces its roots to the Church of England.

The Telegraph of London, a newspaper generally aligned with church conservatives, concluded that the Archbishop of Canterbury's hopes of averting a schism "have been left in tatters following a historic split in the Anglican Communion in its row over homosexuality."

No one is certain now what will follow, though few expect changes to occur immediately. But over the coming months, tensions could rise in the greater Communion because the San Joaquin Diocese voted to align itself with a foreign Anglican province, or regional church. Other dioceses may feel emboldened to cut ties with the Episcopal Church also. And on the local level, the church would probably file suit against the diocese over property, lay people and clergy on various sides said.

"It will be a huge, huge legal battle," said the Rev. Ephraim Radner, a leading Episcopal conservative and professor of historical theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto. "The costs involved will bleed the Diocese of San Joaquin and the Episcopal Church, and it will lead only to bad press. You have to wonder why people are wasting money doing this and yet claiming to be Christians."

Anglicans have been moving toward a worldwide schism since 2003, when the Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. San Joaquin is also one of the three Episcopal dioceses that will not ordain women.

The Episcopal rift over theology began decades ago and is now focused on whether the Bible condemns gay relationships.

Episcopal and Anglican advocates for accepting gay relationships say they are guided by biblical teachings on social justice and tolerance. Traditionalists believe that gay relationships violate Scripture.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, elected last year as the first woman to lead the church, had warned San Joaquin Bishop John-David Schofield against secession but did not outline specific consequences. Jefferts Schori supports ordaining partnered gays and lesbians.

Jefferts Schori indicated in her statement that the national denomination will not give up the diocese. "The Episcopal Church will continue in the Diocese of San Joaquin, albeit with new leadership," she said.

The diocese serves about 8,500 parishioners in 47 congregations in central California.

Full articles: Episcopal diocese secedes in rift over gays | Los Angeles Times
 The Associated Press: Diocese Breaks With Episcopal Church
Diocese splits from Church in gay row | Telegraph.co.uk
Episcopal Diocese Votes to Secede From Church | New York Times
San Joaquin diocese will leave US Episcopal Church | Fresno Bee

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