The Episcopal Diocese of New York served an apology on Saturday, March 25, at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in Manhattan as part of its ongoing efforts to investigate and repent the church's historic role in slavery and other forms of racial oppression.

Service of Apology

According to CBS News, the Episcopal Diocese of New York is taking steps to rectify its slavery-related transgressions. The church reportedly apologized for its involvement in the slave trade. 

In addition to establishing a reparations commission, they have pledged $1 million for community education and employment.

Andrew Dietsche, the Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of New York, stated that enslaved African-Аmericans built churches around the city. Still, their families were refused equitable access to those churches even after they were freed.

To recognize and educate people about this difficult period in the church's past, the Reparations Commission of the Diocese of New York was established.

The diocese has also committed $1.1 million to a fund to support ongoing efforts to combat intolerance and racism.

Praise dancer Tonika Custalow-Stuart said, "It's going to be a long time moving forward because you have to get a lot of people on board, and it's about cleaning up our hearts, I believe, and just to stand as one."

According to the Bishop, it is a process that consists of three steps: lamentations, apologies, and restitution.

Moreover, Episcopal News Service stated that the service of apology held by the Diocese of New York was the most recent illustration of the churchwide emphasis on racial reconciliation over the past several decades. 

Racial reconciliation has been elevated to a top priority of the church ever since 2015, when Curry became the first African-American elected presiding bishop. 

Becoming Beloved Community is a framework introduced by the Episcopal Church in 2017 and used by dioceses and congregations throughout the denomination to increase their level of engagement with the challenges.

Some dioceses, such as New York's, have also made efforts toward reparations, such as making financial promises to atone for how the church has benefited from systems that have oppressed or impoverished people of color.

Episcopal Diocese of New York

The Episcopal Diocese of New York is comprised of 192 places of worship. They can be found in the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City and the counties of Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, and Ulster, in the state of New York. Westchester County is also a part of the diocese.

Over 50,000 people are considered members of the diocese, as reported.

Bishop Dietsche, in his role as Bishop Diocesan, is responsible for the oversight of around 500 canonically resident priests, 60 priests who are licensed to officiate in the diocese, 70 deacons, and 35 staff personnel who are both lay and ordained.

The Episcopal Church in the United States has over 1.6 million members and more than 100 dioceses. 

It is a constituent part of the Anglican Communion, which has approximately 77 million members across the globe. 

 

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