Property Litigation Continues Despite Anglican Call for Suspension

By Lillian Kwon, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, February 27, 2007

The Episcopal Church plans to continue litigation to recover church properties from 11 Virginia congregations that left the denomination.

Attorneys representing the 11 breakaway congregations have asked for a hold in a letter days after Anglican Primates worldwide released a communiqué at the conclusion of an annual meeting in Tanzania. Despite a recommendation from the Anglican Communion in the communiqué asking parties to back away from litigation, lawyers for the Episcopal Church, said "there is no basis at this time" to put the litigation on hold.

David Booth Beers, chancellor to U.S. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and his colleague, Heather H. Anderson, responded Monday, arguing that the Anglican Communion is a federation and not a "juridical or legislative body" and "has no legal authority over the affairs of its members," according to the Episcopal News Service.

On the issue of property disputes, the communiqué states: "The Primates urge the representatives of The Episcopal Church and of those congregations in property disputes with it to suspend all actions in law arising in this situation. We also urge both parties to give assurances that no steps will be taken to alienate property from The Episcopal Church without its consent or to deny the use of that property to those congregations."

Property disputes began in December after some of the largest congregations in Virginia voted to split from the denomination. The breakaway groups and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia had agreed to a standstill for a period of 30 days to avoid litigation. In January, the diocese announced that it would not renew the agreement and soon filed lawsuits to recover the multimillion dollar properties that the congregations – now part of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America – are currently occupying. The Episcopal Church joined the diocese in February by filing a complaint against the 11 parishes – a move that the breakaway groups called "un-Christian."

The Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, missionary bishop of CANA, said the conservative Anglican congregations in the United States have communicated with both diocesan and national church leadership, urging them to follow through on the request of the Primates to suspend property litigation. "We pray that there will be a positive response."

Booth and Anderson, however, wrote in their response on Monday that the recommendations by the Anglican Primates "taken together, call for a number of steps to be considered over time by the bishops and other leaders of the Episcopal Church."

And "in these circumstances," they added that it would be "premature, to say the least," for the Episcopal Church to withdraw from litigation. Such a step would mean "ceasing its efforts to protect its interests and that of its past, current, and future members in seeing that parish property be used for the Church's ministry and mission," the attorneys wrote.

"Thus, suspension of this litigation at this time would not be appropriate."