Conservatives flee after consecration of gay, female bishops

Grace Church & St. Stephen's of Colorado Springs is one of 55 parishes nationwide in which "a significant number" of the congregation has voted to leave the Episcopal Church, according to Neva Rae Fox, spokeswoman for the U.S. church.

The 2.2 million-strong body has lost many conservative members since its consecration of a gay bishop in 2003 and the first woman presiding U.S. bishop a few years later.

In the past year, the church has lost 200,000 members, the steepest drop among Christian denominations, according to the National Council of Churches.

The U.S. church denies it's coming apart.

"Less than 10 percent of parishioners are actively disturbed about what's going on," national spokeswoman Jan Nunley said.

When a breakaway occurs, leaders of the U.S. church claim canonical and legal right of the church property occupied by dissidents. The church is also cracking down on priests and bishops threatening secession. Just Wednesday,Bishop John-David Schofield of the San Joaquin Diocese in California was deposed by the church after being slapped in January with a suspension for his secessionist activities.