Episcopal congregation sues to regain property
The Layman Online, September 17, 1999
BROCKTON, Mass. – An Episcopal congregation that was evicted from its property after members declared themselves no longer subject to the authority of bishops who condoned same-sex marriage and non-celibate, unmarried priests has filed suit to regain the property and assets.
The Christian Challenge, an international publication that bills itself as the “voice of traditional Anglicanism,” reported in its September edition that the congregation asked the court to find that the Episcopal diocese wrongfully confiscated real estate worth $4 million and $550,000 in assets. The assets included contributions, bequests and gifts the parish had received from members and supporters.
St. Paul’s is an evangelical, multi-ethnic congregation that has continued to hold outdoor services on Sundays near the parish property. St. Paul’s is being operated as a mission under the control of Massachusetts Bishop Thomas Shaw. The mission also has Sunday services, but few attend.
The suit says that the diocese acted unlawfully in getting a state judge to order St. Paul’s parishioners to vacate the property and forfeit the congregation’s financial assets. In March, a Plymouth County Superior Court judge upheld the complaint of the diocese and evicted the congregation, ruling that the congregation has renounced the jurisdiction of the diocese. The judge took care to note that his ruling did not address the religious issues.
Theologically conservative Episcopalians hope that the suit by St. Paul’s parishioners will produce a ruling that declares that some bishops, and not dissenting congregations, are in violation of church law.
Lambeth resolution
Last year, Anglican bishops worldwide attended their once-a-decade Lambeth Conference and voted in favor of a resolution that “upholds faithfulness in marriage between and man and a woman in lifelong union, and believes that abstinence is right for those who are not called to marriage.” The statement advised against blessing same-gender unions or ordaining those involved in such unions.
But many Episcopal bishops in the United States renounced the non-binding Lambeth resolution and said, in effect, that it was the product of unsophisticated Third World bishops who had been plied with barbecue and fundamentalism by American traditionalists.
The St. Paul’s case rises out of the aftermath of Lambeth. The argument of the congregation, which has not been tested by civil courts, is that the liberal bishops have abandoned orthodoxy as required by the 39 Articles of Faith. (The 39 Articles of Faith, the foundational theological declaration of the Anglican communion, bears strong theological kinship to the Westminster Confession of Faith.)
Interestingly, renewal leaders and some legal minds in the Episcopal Church hope to present that argument in civil courts – if possible. By constitutional design, American courts have avoided passing judgment on religion except when health and life issues are at stake or when religious laws conflict with U.S. law. The courts generally say the decision-making process in a denomination, whether or not faithful to its heritage, is not the public’s business.
Bishops have wide-ranging powers
Observers in the Episcopal Church are uncertain what the final outcome will be in the St. Paul’s case. Episcopal canon law gives bishops wide-ranging power, including eviction and taking over property of dissident congregations. The church law has been tested and upheld in civil courts.
In the Presbyterian Church (USA), dissenting congregations are not so easily or quickly dismissed. But the property of local Presbyterian congregations is held in trust for the General Assembly, and presbyteries can take similar action against dissident congregations.