Supreme Court of Va. to hear Episcopal Church ownership case
By: David Sherfinski
Examiner Staff Writer
October 15, 2009
The Supreme Court of Virginia will hear the appeal of the Episcopal Church, which is trying to keep ownership of nine properties in a highly publicized dispute with a group of breakaway conservative congregations.
Attorneys were notified of the decision Wednesday morning, according to Henry D.W. Burt, secretary of the diocese.
"We are pleased that the court has agreed to hear this important case regarding the ability of the Episcopal Church and other hierarchical churches to organize themselves according to their beliefs without unwarranted governmental interference," Burt said.
The rift drew national attention as the conservative congregations voted en masse to leave their parent organization after years of growing theological disagreement.
In late 2006, about a dozen Northern Virginia congregations left the diocese and joined with an Anglican archbishop in Nigeria. The congregations claimed that the national church had drifted from its doctrine, notably by ordaining a gay bishop in New Hampshire in 2004.
At the center of the legal dispute is a Virginia law known as "the Division Statute" that governs ownership of property during religious schisms. Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows has ruled that the statute is constitutional, and also applies in the case.
"The fact that the Virginia Supreme Court is going to hear an appeal of this case was expected," said Scott Ward, one of the lawyers representing the Anglican District of Virginia, of which the nine churches are members. "We continue to be confident in our legal position and in the rulings of the Fairfax County Circuit Court."
The breakaway groups, which left the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in late 2006, sued the diocese in Fairfax County Circuit Court to keep the nine church properties they occupied before the split.
The decisions rendered by Bellows left the Episcopal Diocese with dwindling chances for an outcome in its favor, but the Wednesday announcement allowed it another window.
"We welcome this next step to bringing exiled Episcopalians closer to returning to their church homes," Burt said.
An oral argument had been scheduled for Oct. 21, but has been canceled as a result of the ruling.
