Vancouver Anglicans split from bishop

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 14 (UPI) -- Members of a Vancouver, British Columbia, Anglican church voted to split from their bishop because of his support for same-sex marriages.

In balloting closed to the public Wednesday, 495 members of St. John's Shaughnessy voted to split from Anglican Church of Canada's Bishop Michael Ingham and join the conservative Diocese of the Southern Cone, which includes Argentina and Paraguay, the Vancouver Sun reported Thursday.

Eleven people voted against the shift and nine people abstained, church spokeswoman Lesley Bentley told the newspaper.

Bentley said the church received a warning letter Wednesday from Archbishop Fred Hiltz saying if a parish separates, there would be costly property disputes.

"In our Anglican tradition, individuals who choose to leave the church over contentious issues cannot take property and other assets with them," Hiltz wrote.

The church has about 700 members and is one of 80 Anglican churches in southern British Columbia, the Sun said.