SC bishop being investigated amid Episcopal schism

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina bishop is being investigated by the Episcopal Church in a new chapter of the ongoing schism in the church over the ordination of gay ministers and other issues.

Bishop Mark Lawrence is the first diocese leader to be investigated under new rules to determine whether he has abandoned the national church. That could lead to him being deposed.

The probe comes amid an Episcopal schism which has seen some conservative dioceses leave. The Diocese of South Carolina has distanced itself, but not split from the national church.

Lawrence says while the South Carolina parishes are in the Episcopal minority, they hold the same beliefs Anglicans have held for 500 years. The 2 million-member Episcopal Church is a branch of the 77-million member worldwide Anglican Communion.