Why this Episcopal priest and administrator is leaving his church to become a Roman Catholic

A conservative Episcopal priest, who is a top administrator in the Tennessee diocese, is leaving the church to become a Roman Catholic. 

Andrew Petiprin recently announced his plans to change his religious tradition and resign his post as the Episcopal diocese's canon to the ordinary. He wraps up his job on New Year's Eve, and Petiprin and his family will start 2019 in the Catholic Church. 

"I’m not really running away from the Episcopal Church, but running toward the Catholic Church," Petiprin said in an interview.  

Since June 2017, Petiprin has worked alongside Bishop John Bauerschmidt, helping him with the administration of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee, which covers much of Middle Tennessee. 

Petriprin said he started the job excited about the chance to influence the future of the Episcopal Church, but it became clear several months ago that God was calling him to Catholicism. 

Petiprin says there is still room for conservatives in the Episcopal Church

"There are many reasons, but no one of them is definitive," Petiprin said. "One of the great things that has happened to me over the last few months is, although I remain conservative on many of the questions that the Episcopal Church is facing, I have far less anger or bitterness about any of that than I used to have."

Petiprin, who has been an Episcopal priest for eight years, is a conservative in a denomination that has made progressive shifts in recent decades. Like Bauerschmidt, he does not support the Episcopal Church's decision to allow same-sex couples to marry in the church. That change came in 2015 and was broadened this summer. 

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While he says it is hard to be a conservative in the denomination, Petiprin thinks there is still room in the Episcopal Church for those who share his views and that his own experience is proof that conservatives who want to stay do not have to leave.

"Ultimately, I’ve just found that the Lord has called me into the Catholic Church and away from that project of being a conservative Episcopalian," said Petiprin, who announced last week his decision to leave.

Bauerschmidt also sent out a letter to the Episcopal diocese about Petiprin's upcoming departure, explaining that he plans to appoint a new canon to the ordinary in early January. In the letter, the bishop said he was grateful for Petiprin's friendship and work in the diocese.

"This is, of course, a major transition for Canon Andrew and his family. This development in their lives was not foreseen by him at the time of their arrival in Tennessee," Bauerschmidt said in the letter. "Decisions like this are not made lightly or easily. He will be charting a new course for his ministry in the future. Please keep all of them in your prayers." 

Writing a book and local Catholics moved Petiprin toward the church

Petiprin, raised Methodist and then nondenominational Christian, has a long-held affinity for the Catholic Church. Although he became an Anglican while in England in 2002, he contemplated Catholicism after being affected by the 2005 death of Pope John Paul II. But he prayed about it and still felt he was on the right path.

Petiprin became an Episcopal priest and served in Orlando, Florida, before moving to Nashville. In Tennessee, Petiprin said he met interesting local Catholics, came across influential reading materials, and the strife he felt regarding the Episcopal Church dissipated. 

"I’ve experienced a great healing about that," Petiprin said. 

He also spent the last couple of years writing an apologetics book called "Truth Matters: Knowing God and Yourself," which came out earlier this year.

"I’m writing a book about truth, and I sort of come deeper and deeper into the realization that the Catholic Church has been the guardian of truth for many centuries, and despite its flaws, it really presents the best case for the gospel to the world," Petiprin said. 

He said the Episcopal Church pointed him in the direction of that truth, too. And Petiprin is grateful for all he has learned and the relationships he has built through the denomination. 

But he decided to make the leap and leave the Episcopal Church as well as the job that helps him provide financially for his wife and two children for the Catholic Church. 

He is excited to join a church that believes marriage is between a man and a woman and takes a strong anti-abortion stance.

But Petiprin also is delighted about the devotion to Mary, Jesus' mother, among Catholics as well as their strong reliance on the saints. He has found the rosary and the prayers to the saints to be a powerful practice in his life.  

On Tuesday, Petiprin and his family will be received and confirmed at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Nashville. 

Petiprin still needs to figure out his next career move. He is considering teaching, writing and administrative work, but has not ruled out the priesthood in his new church. A path exists within the Catholic Church that allows married Episcopal priests to become Catholic priests. 

"I’m open to discernment on that question, but for the present I am seeking other employment hopefully within the church somehow," Petiprin said. "I’m keen to just be a Catholic in the pews and to discern how I can best serve the church." 

Reach Holly Meyer at hmeyer@tennessean.com or 615-259-8241 and on Twitter @HollyAMeyer.