With the appointment of an openly gay bishop in their church, Episcopal students on campus are expressing a mixture of enthusiasm and concern for the future unity of the denomination worldwide.
The Rev. V. Gene Robinson was consecrated in a ceremony Nov. 2 as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire, becoming the first openly gay prelate in the history of the Episcopal Church. Robinson's election, approved by a national convention of clergymen earlier in the year, has drawn outrage from Anglican clerics and worshipers in this nation and across the world. The Anglican Church is the international equivalent of the Episcopal Church in the United States.
Though most dissent comes from outside the United States, the issue has had an impact on campus as well.
Many students support the appointment enthusiastically.
"The whole point of any religion is one's relationship with God, and in God's eyes we're all equal," said Anne Throdahl '05, who is one of three student leaders of the Episcopoal Church at Princeton. "So I think it's great that church policy is demonstrating that."
Others are not so sure.
"There are some students who feel that homosexuality is wrong and that he should not have been elected bishop to the church," said the Rev. Stephen White, who leads the Episcopalian service at the University Chapel each Sunday. "I would say that that's a minority opinion, but it does exist on campus within the Episcopalian church."
White, who supports Robinson's consecration, said it was more important to resolve the growing division in the church than the moral questions surrounding homosexuality.
"Which is worse, heresy or schism? In this way of thinking we would always say that schism is worse than heresy," said White, a reverend of three years.
"Because if you have schism, you can't fix the heresy. You can't sort of come to a right way of understanding God's will."
Many students agreed the split in the church is the more important of the two issues.
"I'm relatively ambivalent about his consecration in particular. I was a lot more concerned about the effect it would have on the Episcopal church as a whole," said Owen Hehmeyer, a third-year graduate student in chemical engineering.
"I probably would have voted on whichever way is more likely to preserve the union, which is against the consecration, because most of the Anglican church is against it."
The ECP is a student organization that meets twice a week to celebrate the Eucharist and conduct informal discussions on religious issues.
On Oct. 7 Bishop Neff Powell of the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia, who cast a vote in the controversial election, spoke to the ECP about his experience at the convention.
"One of the things that I think is very important on this campus for the Episcopalian church is that disagreement is OK, dissent is OK," said White.
"We're not afraid to engage these issues, and I really try desperately to get that message out to students."
Read More
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ’03 ‘plagiarized’ small portions of his senior thesis, experts say. But how serious is it?
Sena ChangA review of the senior thesis of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ’03 by The Daily Princetonian, in consultation with three plagiarism experts, found eight instances of uncredited material, sham paraphrasing, and verbatim copying. According to the experts, each passage violated Princeton’s academic integrity policies but varied in severity.
A review of the senior thesis of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ’03 by The Daily Princetonian, in consultation with three plagiarism experts, found eight instances of uncredited material, sham paraphrasing, and verbatim copying. According to the experts, each passage violated Princeton’s academic integrity policies but varied in severity.
CPUC discusses University policy changes and classroom scheduling in final meeting of academic year
Cynthia TorresPresentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Presentations included minor changes to Title IX policy, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies (ODUS) protest policies, and updates to the classroom scheduling process.
Federal funding cuts hit McCarter, Princeton University Concerts
Devon RudolphThe Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.
The Trump administration announced plans to end the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) on May 2. Both the McCarter Theater and Princeton University Concerts have received notice that federally awarded NEA grants have been rescinded.