Anger as Bishop ordains Turkish man to priesthood: CEN 1.18.08 p 6.

The Byzantine dispute between the Bishop of Gibraltar and the Anglican congregations in Turkey was brought to a head on Saturday, after Bishop Geoffrey Rowell ordained a Turk to the priesthood in Istanbul over the protests of the resident Anglican community in Istanbul.

Istanbul Anglicans and the Diocese in Europe have traded accusations of bad faith following the disputed Jan 13 ordination, with the Anglican Chaplain of Istanbul, Canon Ian Sherwood OBE declining to attend the ordination of the Rev. Engin Yildirim.

The “furtive” ordination of Mr. Yildirim at the former Dutch embassy chapel was “most peculiar”, Canon Sherwood said, and its consequences would damage the Anglican community. “It is unthinkable that a diocesan bishop in England would behave in a parish in this manner and ordain a man to set up an alternative church 100 yards from a long-established church community,” he said.

However, diocesan spokesman Paul Needle disputed these charges, saying Canon Sherwood and the leaders of the Anglican Community “had been aware of the impending ordination for some time.”

Tensions between Bishop Rowell and Istanbul Anglicans arose in the wake of the 2003 al-Qaeda terror attack in Istanbul when 30 people, including British Consul General Roger Short, were killed and over 400 wounded when two trucks driven by suicide bombers exploded outside the consulate, severely damaging the consulate
chapel, St Helena’s.

The Foreign Office declined to restore St. Helena’s and angered the resident Anglican community when it was revealed the British government had instead given permission to a property speculator to level the churchyard for commercial redevelopment. Following a protest that led to questions being raised in Parliament, the Foreign Office backed down in 2005 and began restoring St Helena’s.

However the controversy soured relations between the bishop and the congregation. Relations took a turn for the worse after Bishop Rowell proposed ordaining a Turkish man.