Virginia Diocese Appeals Circuit Court Property Decision

Posted on: February 3, 2009

The Diocese of Virginia filed formal notice on Feb. 3 of its intent to appeal a Fairfax County Circuit Court decision issued last month which ruled that 11 congregations that disaffiliated from The Episcopal Church were the rightful owners of the local church property under Virginia law.

The Commonwealth of Virginia has only a limited appellate court system. Most appeals are made directly to the state supreme court. There is no right of appeal, meaning that the court can decline to hear an appeal.

Virginia also has a Civil War-era statute which permits local congregations to decide what to do with church property in the event of denominational split. The lower court determined that the statute was valid and that a split had occurred within The Episcopal Church. Throughout the lower court proceedings the diocese maintained that the statute was unconstitutional.

“The division statute is uniquely hostile to religious freedoms,” said Henry Burt, secretary for the Diocese of Virginia. “We have always been firmly committed to returning exiled Episcopal congregations to their rightful church homes.”

Assuming the Virginia Supreme Court accepts the case, a final decision would probably not be issued for at least a year.

This article comes from The Living Church Foundation
http://www.livingchurch.org/

The URL for this story is:
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