Va. AG Sides With Conservative Churches In Dispute - News Story - WRC | Washington
Va. AG Sides With Conservative Churches In Dispute - News Story - WRC | Washington:
McLEAN, Va. -- Nearly a dozen conservative Virginia church congregations seeking to split from The Episcopal Church in a dispute over homosexuality and other theological issues received the support of Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell in legal papers filed this week.
The Episcopal Church, a national denomination of roughly 2 million members, sued the 11 congregations last year in an effort to regain control of church property.
The 11 congregations -- including two especially large and prominent congregations, Truro Church in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church -- voted in 2006 and 2007 to leave The Episcopal Church and realign under a network led by conservative Anglican bishops in Africa who also oppose The Episcopal Church's theological views, including its acceptance of an openly gay bishop.
The congregations, which consider themselves members of the newly formed Anglican District of Virginia, say they should keep their church property, worth tens of millions of dollars. The Episcopal Church argues that the votes are not legitimate and wants the property returned to the denomination.
In a motion to intervene filed Thursday in Fairfax County Circuit Court, McDonnell sided with the breakaway congregations on a key legal matter. The attorney general urged Circuit Judge Randy Bellows to follow a state law dating back to the Civil War era in resolving the dispute.
That law allows a majority vote of the congregation to determine ownership and affiliation when a "division" has occurred within a religious denomination.
The Episcopal Church has argued, among other things, that the state law is unconstitutional because it requires the court wade into theological issues such as whether a schism has occurred within the Episcopal denomination.
"As a matter of federal constitutional law, the Episcopal Church is simply wrong," McDonnell wrote in the motion. "The Constitution does not require that local church property disputes be resolved by deferring to national and regional church leaders."
Instead, the Supreme Court has allowed courts to decide such disputes on neutral principles, like looking at the language of property deeds. McDonnell, a Republican expected to run for governor next year, said the court should simply look to determine that the vote authorizing the disaffiliation was conducted properly.
"There is no need for the judiciary to inquire into matters of religious doctrine," McDonnell wrote. "The inquiry is entirely secular."
If Judge Bellows were to accept McDonnell's argument, it would be a major victory for the 11 congregations, but not a decisive one. The judge will have to rule on other issues before making a final judgment, including claims by The Episcopal Church that the votes to leave the denomination were done improperly.
Patrick Getlein, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, said the diocese is looking at the motion and plans to provide a formal response to the court next week.
Jim Oakes, vice chairman of the Anglican District of Virginia, welcomed McDonnell's motion.
"Our parishes voted overwhelmingly to disassociate from the Episcopal Church due to its rejection of the authority of Scripture," he said. "Our decision is just one small piece of evidence that there is a widespread division within the Anglican Communion."
The dispute is being watched closely by church leaders worldwide; dozens of congregations and at least four of the 110 Episcopal dioceses in the U.S. are taking steps to break away and align with an overseas Anglican leader. The Episcopal church is the U.S. body of the 77 million member worldwide Anglican Communion.
Both sides in the Virginia dispute say they have spent more than $1 million in legal fees as the case has dragged on.
Oakes said he is "appalled at the money this is costing us" and said the congregations remain willing to settle the case amicably, despite their confidence in the strength of their case.
Bellows could rule on the constitutionality of the state law in coming weeks but is not expected to set a final trial date until September or October at the earliest.