A Majority of Bishops?

http://www.standfirminfaith.com/index.php/site/article/10866/

[Stand Firm] 17 Mar 2008--If you follow all things Anglican you cannot fail to have noticed the current discussion surrounding the deposition of Bishop Schofield of San Joaquin by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church (TEC) of America. An article by The Living Church summarises the issue neatly:

Slightly more than one-third of all bishops eligible voted to depose bishops John-David Schofield and William J. Cox during the House of Bishops’ spring retreat, far fewer than the 51 percent required by the canons.

The exact number is impossible to know, because both resolutions were approved by voice vote. Only 131 bishops registered for the meeting March 7-12 at Camp Allen, and at least 15 of them left before the business session began on Wednesday. There were 294 members of the House of Bishops entitled to vote on March 12.

The problem, you see, is that the canons of TEC [pdf], and specifically Title IV, canon 9, sections 1-2, require a majority of those entitled to vote, not just those present. Here's the actual text of the canon:

If the House, by a majority of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote, shall give its consent, the Presiding Bishop shall depose the Bishop from the Ministry, and pronounce and record in the presence of two or more Bishops that the Bishop has been so deposed.

OK, that's fair enough. Except that TEC are now arguing that it was all legal after all.