For anyone not in on the “joke”...
This refers to the case where disgruntled Anglicans / Episcopalians cannot simply leave the denomination and take their historical buildings with them.
The denomination has the deeds to the building, and makes the case that the rest of the members decided to leave and therefore no longer able to worship in those buildings.
The same is true in United Methodist churches too — if a parish leaves the denomination then the denomination keeps the buildings.
So, this letter is backwards to what it seems to be.
Well, bottom line, are the liberals or the good guys winning for the most part?
Except the largest and most powerful of the Northern Va. parishes involved pre-date the founding of the Episcopal Church, and their deeds are all pre-Dennis Canon.
You can read about the various court cases involving the TEC and parishes/ dioceses in better detail at
www.standfirminfaith.com
Actually for a lot of Episcopal churches, the title on the deed is in the local church, but the Episcopal Church claims that the church’s property rights are overriden by the “Dennis Canon,” which was unilaterally passed a few years ago by the General Convention without the specific agreement of any of the churches. The Dennis Canon says that all church properties are simply held “in trust” for the diocese and national denomination.
The state courts have split in how to deal with this. Some have recognized the individual church’s title, while others have sided with the Episcopal Church, saying that as part of a “hierarchical denomination,” individual churches are deemed to be bound by decisions of the national body.
Not true, as to these cases. The Bishop of N.Fla held the title there, and those congregations generally walked away without a legal fight. But you are certainly incorrect here.