The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church has told Bishop Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh that a vote will be taken Thursday at a meeting of the national House of Bishops on whether to remove him from ministry.

The step comes as the Diocese of Pittsburgh nears an Oct. 4 vote on whether to secede from the Episcopal Church -- the U.S. branch of the Anglican Communion -- and realign with the more theologically conservative Anglican Province of the Southern Cone in South America.

A pastoral letter from Bishop Duncan indicated that he would abide by the vote of the House of Bishops, but does not believe it can stop the diocesan effort to secede. The diocesan Standing Committee, most of whose eight members back secession, would govern the diocese until the Oct. 4 convention. If the vote is for realignment as expected, then the seceding diocese could re-elect Bishop Duncan, according to diocesan spokesman, the Rev. Peter Frank.

"We as a diocese will not be intimidated or turned form our overriding commitment, which is faithfulness to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ within the mainstream of Anglicanism," Bishop Duncan wrote.

He and his supporters say the method that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori chose to try to remove him is a misuse of canon law and denies him due process.

"I continue to maintain that the House of Bishops 'vote' will be a gross violation of the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church," he wrote.

The Rev. James Simons, the only member of the Standing Committee known to oppose secession, agreed that if Bishop Duncan is removed it will probably change nothing because the current Standing Committee will govern in his place.

The Rev. Simons spoke yesterday at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon before a standing-room only gathering of 325 Episcopalians who want to remain in the Episcopal Church.

The meeting of Across the Aisle dealt with how the diocese will be reorganized within the Episcopal Church if the majority of clergy and members realign with the Southern Cone.

The Rev. Simons said he expected to immediately appoint two other people to serve with him as a standing committee and give the 30 days' notice required to call a "reorganizing convention" of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, at which key leaders, including a bishop, would be elected. Unlike a diocese in California that seceded last year, he expects local Episcopalians to nominate their own bishop rather than confirm one chosen by the presiding bishop, he said.

The meeting of Across the Aisle, which drew about twice the attendance that organizers had expected, was largely without rancor. It was an effort to reach beyond the liberal minority in the diocese to the moderate-to-conservative majority.

The Rev. Jeffrey Murph, rector of St. Thomas, Oakmont, spoke from that perspective, saying that although he was aware of deep imperfections in the Episcopal Church, that sin prevents all churches from being perfect. He also noted that the many Episcopal parishes that have left so far have realigned with myriad Anglican provinces and organizations scattered across four continents.

"Is it possible that the Holy Spirit could be fragmenting the Episcopal Church into all these shards?" he asked.

An audience member from Trinity Cathedral called attention to a proposal from the cathedral's leadership to continue to serve both dioceses. In an interview, the Rev. Catherine Brall, canon of the cathedral, said, "We are the mother church. We are for everybody. We have people on both sides of the issue and we want to be Christ-like in this."

Attorney Charles Jarrett, a former chancellor of the diocese, urged parishes that wished to remain Episcopal to put their assessments -- financial support for the diocese -- into escrow accounts until after the Oct. 4 vote.

The Rev. Bruce Robison, rector of St. Andrew, Highland Park, said there would be prompt pastoral support for individuals who want to remain Episcopalians if most of their parish goes into the Southern Cone.

The thorniest issue in the separation is ownership of church property.

The national church maintains that all parish property is held in trust for the denomination and must remain in the denomination even if the parish members break with it. Supporters of realignment question the validity of the trust clause in the church constitution, and also argue that the property is held by the diocese and remains with the diocese if the diocese secedes. Most experts expect it to end up in civil litigation.

The Rev. Jonathan Millard, spokesman for the Coalition for Realignment, attended yesterday's meeting and asked whether property ownership could be negotiated between the two sides without going to court. He said he believed that if local people on both sides could agree to such a solution that the national church might refrain from filing a lawsuit.

The Rev. Simons replied that "speaking only for myself, a brokered agreement makes more sense than spending millions of dollars on litigation."

Afterward, the Rev. Millard said he felt encouraged by "the good spirit" of the meeting.

"I hope this is a foretaste of a similar conversation post-October 4, that there can be an agreement between us that will allow both sides to flourish, without a winner-take-all mentality," he said.

Lionel Deimel, a board member of Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh, which opposes realignment, said he was encouraged at the turnout.

"I'm excited that we were joined by some people who in the past have very much supported the bishop. It's one thing to have the same beliefs as the bishop. It's another to want to split the church," he said.