Episcopal LGBTQ+ Caucus, a group of over a hundred Episcopalians, signed a letter expressing their opposition to the election of the Rev. Charlie Holt as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Florida.
Objection Letter
Per the report from Episcopal News Service, in the letter, they ask bishops and standing committees throughout the Episcopal Church to withhold the consents that Holt would require to become a bishop.
At the second election, which took place in Nov. 2022, Holt was once again deemed the victor. However, new accusations caused the Court of Review to conduct another investigation, given the evidence that it gathered of a pattern of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination.
The retiring Bishop John Howard awarded a canonical residency for priests, its conclusions, which were announced last week, cast doubt on the fairness of any election that may take place in the Diocese of Florida.
As mentioned, several objections reiterate some issues after Holt was first elected in May 2022. At that time, some of his views on racial relations and same-sex marriage were under new scrutiny.
However, on Dec. 20, the Rev. Holt released a statement to the diocese stating that if he is consecrated, he will not interfere with marriages between people of the same gender or the ordination of gay clergy.
Holt wrote a letter in which he attempted to address those concerns by stating that "all sacraments should be available to all persons." Holt reaffirmed his prior affirmations of General Convention Resolution B012, passed in 2018.
The resolution mandates that liturgies for same-sex marriage be made available to all Episcopalians in jurisdictions where it is legal. Still, it also permits bishops who disagree with same-sex marriage to delegate any required oversight of such unions to another bishop.
Objection Letters over Bishop Coadjutor Election
A formal protest was lodged with the Diocese of Florida on May 25 regarding the election of the Reverend Charlie Holt as bishop coadjutor on May 14.
The objection, signed by 37 clergies and lay delegates to the diocese's special election convention, asserts that the voting process was improperly altered at the last minute, violating the diocese's canons. Those technical issues disrupted the vote, resulting in an invalid election.
Moreover, several months after the first attempt at an election was void due to a similar objection; delegates of the election on Nov. 19 filed a protest of the election procedures.
The objection also claims that the most recent election, in which the Rev. Charlie Holt was re-elected as bishop coadjutor, involved a significant error, unequal treatment of clergy, voter disenfranchisement, and a rule violation. The diocese emailed the five-page letter, dated Nov. 28, on Nov. 30.
Most of the letter is a repetition of grievances that a group of delegates and parishioners submitted to the diocese in October. They requested that the second election be postponed because of disagreements over how the diocese calculated voter eligibility.
Delegates complained in that letter that certain clergy who wanted to vote were wrongly denied the right to do so because they were not considered canonically resident. Also, several parishes unjustly lost lay delegates because of revised attendance figures.
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