CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Clergy of the Diocese of South Carolina are meeting to discuss an Episcopal Church investigation of allegations against the local bishop.
The closed-door meeting is scheduled for Tuesday with Bishop Mark Lawrence so he can brief the clergy on the situation.
Lawrence was recently contacted by the Disciplinary Board for Bishops of the national church. The board said that, based on information from congregants in the diocese, Lawrence has abandoned the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church.
The diocese has distanced itself from the national church because of its policies of ordaining gay bishops and sanctioning same-sex unions. The national church also wants to see records from the diocese comprised of 28,000 parishioners in 47 parishes in eastern and lower South Carolina.
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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