This is not an official website of either diocese of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.
Its purpose is to provide news, encouragement, and support to traditional churchmen and women who no longer feel they have a diocesan home.
Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome at scepiscopalians@aol.com
Its purpose is to provide news, encouragement, and support to traditional churchmen and women who no longer feel they have a diocesan home.
Comments, suggestions, and corrections are welcome at scepiscopalians@aol.com
South Carolina Episcopalians
Bearing Witness to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ through the Episcopal Church
Current Legal Issues
Steve Skardon, Editor
Postings are listed chronologically with the most recent at the top. Please scroll down for older reports..
March 25, 2012
Backed by Uganda, Breakaway Group at Savannah's Christ Episcopal Church wants US Supreme Court to Reverse String of Legal Defeats & Give them Parish's Property
Connecticut breakaway group joins to challenge the right of the Episcopal Church to own its own properties
Case could affect renegade actions of Bishop Lawrence to giveaway Church property through amendment of parish corporate documents and issuance of quitclaim deeds
SAVANNAH -- A breakaway group that claims to be the rightful owner of Christ Episcopal Church in Savannah are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a succession of lower court rulings, including a 6-1 decision by the Georgia Supreme Court, to force the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia to hand over the keys to the so-called "Mother Church of Georgia".
After attempting to separate from the Episcopal Church nearly five years ago, the malcontents have lost a succession of court battles to legitimize its ownership claims.
The group has been assisted in a number of ways by the anti-gay leaders of the Anglican Province of Uganda, to which it claims to belong. The government of Uganda is promoting legislation to allow the execution of gays, but Church leaders have suggested that life-imprisonment would be a more effective deterent. Ugandan strongman, President Yoweri Museveni, has reportedly provided funds to the Anglican province to fight homosexuality in the US.
Georgia's Supreme Court has ruled the $3 million church property in downtown Savannah belongs to the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Georgia. The dissidents argue that cases like All Saints, Waccamaw entitle them to lay claim to church property.
A spokesman for the Georgia Diocese said "In many ways the members of the church have gone on. Week by week, day by day, as they continue to worship, this isn't what's on their minds."
The dissidents attempted to leave the Church and make off with the parish's property in 2007 after the Episcopal Church ordained its first gay bishop.
Read about the related Connecticut case
February 22, 2012
Unanimous U.S. Supreme Court Decision Stuns Those Trying to Leave the Episcopal Church
Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church & School in Redmon, Michigan may not be on the radar screen of most Episcopalians, but a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the case of one of its former teachers is destined to be make the little church as famous as, well, All Saints’ on Pawley’s Island.
In a unanimous decision last month, the Court signed off on a wide-ranging decision broadly affirming the authority of “hierarchical” religious denominations, like the Episcopal Church, to manage their own affairs including its clergy, lay employees, and parish property.
The decision was yet one more warning to breakaway groups in these churches, like the Diocese of South Carolina, that they are wasting millions of dollars trying to leave their denominations with their property.
According to Associate Justice Samuel Alito,
“A religious body’s control over such “employees” is an essential component of its freedom to speak in its own voice, both to its own members and to the outside world. The connection between church governance and the free dissemination of religious doctrine has deep roots in our legal tradition:
“The right to organize voluntary religious associations to assist in the expression and dissemination of any religious doctrine, and to create tribunals for the decision of controverted questions of faith within the association, and for the ecclesiastical government of all the individual members, congregations, and officers with¬in the general association, is unquestioned. All who unite themselves to such a body do so with an implied consent to this government, and are bound to submit to it. But it would be a vain consent and would lead to the total subversion of such religious bodies, if anyone aggrieved by one of their decisions could appeal to the secular courts and have them reversed.” Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 728–729 (1872).
The “ministerial” exception gives concrete protection to the free “expression and dissemination of any religious doctrine.” The Constitution leaves it to the collective conscience of each religious group to determine for itself who is qualified to serve as a teacher or messenger of its faith.
January 11, 2012
Va. Court says the Episcopal Church has
a Legal Interest in all Parish Properties
In a warning to breakaway parishes, the Virginia Supreme Court says that the Diocese of Virginia has a "property interest" in parish properties. The Diocesan Bishop says “Our goal [is] to return faithful Episcopalians to their church homes and Episcopal properties to the mission of the Church" Read full story and Court's opinion
November 21, 2011
Ga. Supreme Court Rejects Pawleys Island Decision, 6-1; Shoots Down Ugandans' Claim to Savannah's Christ Church
Read ENS Report
November 21, 2011
"SC Diocese Releases Property Claim"
The Post & Courier, Charleston SC by Adam Parker full story
November 20, 2011
Lawrence Allies Scramble to Record Deeds; Prudent Parishes Wary of Implications
Prudent vestries should review full implications of quitclaim deeds before accepting them
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, even those done in secret …” Ecclesiastes
CHARLESTON -- Several parishes aligned with Bishop Mark Lawrence scrambled to record quitclaim deeds they received from the Diocese last week, even as questions swirled about their legality and the impact they could have on parishes who accept them.
Once the deeds are accepted by the parish or recorded publicly, they can’t be taken back.
Among those reportedly going forward last week were St. James Episcopal Church on James Island, Christ Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant, The Church of the Good Shepherd and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Ashley, The Cathedral of St. Luke & St. Paul, St. John’s Episcopal Church on Johns Island, St. Helena's in Beaufort, Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Surfside Beach, and the Church of the Cross in Bluffton.
While SC Episcopalians is not a source of legal advice, we are hearing that more prudent vestries are planning to inform the Diocese that they are not accepting the quitclaim deed... until their lawyers, bankers, and insurance brokers have had a chance to assess its implications.
Every parish is different, and apparently every quitclaim deed issued by the Diocese is not the same. One size does not fit all.
The deeds, mailed out to the parishes last week, would relinquish any claim the Diocese might have on parish property should they be found to be valid. They could be seen by a parish as removing a potential obstacle to leaving the Episcopal Church, or they could lead to expensive and protracted litigation.
November 18, 2011
Lawrence Quietly Initiated Plan to Give Away Diocesan Property Claims Two Years Ago
2010 Deal with Bluffton parish was kept under wraps until Wednesday; Attacks on the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop were a smokescreen
BLUFFTON -- All the while claiming he was being loyal the Episcopal Church, SC Bishop Mark Lawrence was facilitating a possible departure from the Episcopal Church by a large parish in Bluffton nearly two years ago.
Apparently Lawrence and Standing Committee Chairman Jeffrey Miller quietly executed a "quitclaim deed" in February 2010, relinquishing the Diocese's legal interest in property belonging to the Church of the Cross. The deed wasn't recorded until Wednesday of this week.
Public disclosure of the deed's existence would have tipped off the rest of the Diocese and the Episcopal Church to Lawrence's plan to issue similar deeds to every parish in the Diocese this week. The Diocese's interest in the Bluffton property could be worth several million dollars.
During the same period the deed was being executed, Lawrence was publicly indignant over protests by traditional Episcopalians in the Diocese, who claimed he had violated his consecration oath to remain loyal to the "doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.
Also at that same time, Bishop Lawrence and the Rev. Mr. Miller were actually denouncing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori because the Episcopal Church was asking to see minutes of Standing Committee meetings and other legal documents that would have exposed their dealings with the Bluffton parish and others.
SC Episcopalians has been unable to find any evidence that the Bishop or the Standing Committee ever disclosed his generous gift to the Bluffton parish at either Diocesan convention held since that time.
November 18, 2011
Anti-Episcopal Church Group Releases Letter It Claims is from SC Chancellor
The American Anglican Council, one of several factions attacking the Episcopal Church, released a letter it claims has been sent to parishes in the Diocese of South Carolina from its Chancellor explaining Bishop Lawrence's recent actions relinquishing Diocesan interest in parish property.
If the letter is authentic, it is the first communication Bishop Lawrence has attempted with lay people in the matter. The group claims it went to every parish. Read it here
November 16, 2011
Diocese of SC Relinquishes Claim to Parishes' Properties
Attacks on the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop have largely been a smokescreen; Bishop's latest move might make it easier for parishes to leave the Episcopal Church
SEABROOK ISLAND -- Relying on a questionable and untested state Supreme Court ruling, Bishop Mark Lawrence announced Tuesday night that he is providing every parish in the Diocese a legal deed, permanently relinquishing any interest the Diocese may hold in its parish property.
This action could remove a potential stumbling block to parishes wanting to leave the Episcopal Church with their church property. It could also create chaos in the Diocese and among parishes, since the legality of the deeds may be in question.
The secret scheme has been in the works for at least two years, while Lawrence and others created public distractions with attacks on the Episcopal Church and the Presiding Bishop.
Lawrence's most recent outrage will almost certainly force the hand of Episcopal Church leaders, who have largely ignored his erratic, anti-Church behavior since becoming bishop in early 2008.
In the past Lawrence has insisted that the Diocese of South Carolina is “sovereign,” and argued that the wider Episcopal Church has no legal interest in parish property in the Diocese.
In the view of anti-Church secessionists, the way is now clear for parishes to leave the Episcopal Church in much the same way as St. Andrew's in Mount Pleasant did last year with Lawrence's apparent blessing.
Lawrence announced this latest provocation at a three-day clergy conference at the Diocese's conference center on Seabrook Island. As is his style, Lawrence’s carefully-scripted presentation was delivered in a closed-door setting surrounded by clergy and others who are least likely to challenge him.
The mood at the conference was "militant", according to one participant. Many clergy described themselves as being “at war" with the Episcopal Church, which they see as "the enemy."
Other more level-headed participants said they felt a great deal of pressure not to object to what was clearly an event orchestrated to create support for the Bishop's decision. Most the more traditional parishes in the Diocese were not represented at the conference.
Lawrence's legal thinking appeared to be the work of a Beaufort attorney, not especially well-known for his expertise in Church law. The Diocese's lawyer, Chancellor Wade Logan, was absent as he has been at other Diocesan events in which the attorney from Beaufort seemed to be in charge.
How important is this? It could be very important.
In the Episcopal Church, all property is held in trust for the use of its parishes by the Church and the dioceses. It can be a fuzzy arrangement, but it brings legal protections, better management and maintenance, enhanced borrowing capacity, and continuity from one generation to the next, among other things.
However, in the past, Lawrence has taken the position that the Episcopal Church does not have any interest in parish property in the Diocese, a position that directly contradicts dozens of state and Federal decisions on this question. The action the Bishop announced Tuesday evening means that he is renouncing any legal interest the Diocese might have in that property as well.
In short he is saying, that parishes own their own property and can do whatever they'd like with it, including taking it with them if they want to leave the Episcopal Church.
In his way of thinking, the Episcopal Church has no say in what happens to the property.
What difference will this make? Initially, parish life will continue as it always has, but an impact eventually could be felt when it comes to parishes borrowing money, securing insurance, inheriting property, recruiting clergy, providing pensions and employee benefits, and attracting new members.
In addition, many parishes receive annual income to maintain their buildings from endowments left to them to further the work of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina. It is not clear if parishes could continue to use this money to maintain buildings in which the Diocese no longer has a legal interest.
Is this legal? For the moment, the Bishop's position may be uniquely valid in South Carolina. However, it is doubtful that it will withstand a legal challenge.
Here's why: Three years ago, the state's Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of All Saints, Pawleys Island that seemed to suggest that the Episcopal Church -- and any other similarly structured church organization like the Presbyterians and Methodists -- does not have a legal interest in parish property held in trust by the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina.
All Saint's was trying to break away from the Episcopal Church and join the Anglican Province of Rwanda, which it eventually was allowed to do.
Legal authorities and those familiar with the Court's thinking say that the ruling was specific to the unique nature of All Saint's case. However, the Diocese of South Carolina, under Bishop Lawrence, disagrees.
Critical to the Court's ruling in the All Saints' case was a "quitclaim" deed executed by the Diocese in 1903 relinquishing any legal interest it might have to All Saints' property.
The existence of that deed tipped the Court's view of property ownership in favor of All Saints' over that of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese.
Bishop Lawrence told the clergy Tuesday that he has quietly executed similar "quitclaim" deeds for each parish in the Diocese.
Unfortunately, Lawrence’s action almost guarantees protracted legal battles. The SC Court's ruling, under which Lawrence is acting, appears to have no authority beyond South Carolina. However, to have it declared invalid will likely require a Court challenge and appeal.
Last night's announcement will almost certainly accelerate an ongoing review of Lawrence's conduct by the Church's Disciplinary Board for Bishops. That review was initiated by communicants in the Diocese who believe that the cumulative effect of Lawrence’s four turbulent years as our bishop amounts to a renunciation of his oath of loyalty to the "doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Lawrence's supporters expect that the quitclaim deeds will make it easier for parishes in the Diocese to leave the Episcopal Church. Many are hoping they will choose to affiliate with the anti-Episcopal Church organization known as "The Anglican Church of North America."
ACNA operates under the leadership of Lawrence's mentor, deposed Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan and his "Vicar General" in the Carolinas, former Episcopal priest Steve Wood. ACNA is not affiliated with the Episcopal Church and not part of the Anglican Communion.
October 18, 2011
Deposed Bishop Duncan, "Anglican Diocese" Lose in Court Again; Breakaway Parishes must Negotiate with Continuing Diocese for use of Parish Property
PITTSBURGH -- Deposed Bishop Robert Duncan admitted defeat today as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in essence refused to allow parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh seeking to join Duncan’s ad-hoc "Anglican Diocese" to walk off with parish properties.
Instead, they will have to negotiate with the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, if they want to continue to use them. The decision today, which conforms to others in breakaway dioceses, effectively ends a struggle for the property. Duncan issued a statement accepting the ruling. Read Duncan's statement
September 28, 2011
SC Diocese Rejects Church's View that its Actions are "Null and Void"
Diocese sticks to dubious claim that its rejection of "accession" to the National Church's Constitution is legal
The Diocese of South Carolina reasserted today that its Constitution is not subject to that of the Episcopal Church because of its status as a founding diocese of the Church.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Church's Executive Council, Bishop Lawrence and Standing Committee Chairman Paul Fuener disputed a determination this summer by the Council's Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Administration that the Diocese's recent actions, removing accession to the Church's Constitution, are "null and void." (See article below).
The back-and-forth between the Diocese and Church officials was generated by an inquiry last spring from Charleston Attorney Melinda Lucka and other SC Episcopalians, questioning the legitimacy of the Diocese's actions.
Click here to see the Diocese's entire response.
September 21, 2011
Episcopal Church tells Diocese that Recent Changes to its Constitution are Meaningless
Removal of Access Clause is "null and void"
An official of the Episcopal Church informed Bishop Mark Lawrence this month that recent changes made to the Constitution of the Diocese of South Carolina are “null and void” in the eyes of the Episcopal Church.
Last February delegates to the 2011 Diocesan Convention gave final approval to amendments to the Diocese’s governing document eliminating “accession” to the Episcopal Church's Constitution.
Accession means that a Diocese agrees that the national Church’s Constitution supersedes that of the Diocese when they are in conflict. The actions of the Convention, approved and supported by the Bishop and Standing Committee, would have reversed that relationship.
According to the Secretary of the Church’s Executive Council, members of its Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Administration determined over the summer that the actions of the Diocesan Convention are sufficiently similar to those taken by rebellious Dioceses of Quincy, San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, and Fort Worth in previous years as to be covered by the same 2007 Executive Council Resolution (NAC023) that declared them meaningless.
The Resolution specifically states that “any diocesan amendment that purports in any way to limit or lessen an unqualified accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church are null and void, as if such amendments had not been passed.”
It goes further to say that this determination is applicable, not just to those four dioceses, but any other dioceses that take “steps or have adopted amendments that purport in any way to limit or lessen unqualified accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church”.
In short, once a diocese commits to join the Episcopal Church, it has no authority to leave. Individual clergy and lay people can leave, but a diocese as a corporate entity can’t.
Bishop Lawrence, who claims the Diocese of South Carolina is “sovereign”, has argued that the Diocese wasn’t “intending” to leave the Church, even though he and the Standing Committee were fully aware that accession to the Church’s Constitution is essential to membership.
The underlying issue here is the ownership of Episcopal Church property in the Diocese, specifically the property of parishes that might want to leave the Episcopal Church. The Bishop and the Standing Committee of the Diocese argue that they alone have the authority to decide what happens to it.
(These controversial amendments are probably also meaningless since the Diocese appears to have violated its own Constitution and Canons to re-convene the 2010 Diocesan Convention to adopt them. Read more)
March 17, 2011
Texas Secessionists Out of Options as Another Court backs the Episcopal Church
Legal victories for the Episcopal Church add up, as the position of Diocese of SC becomes increasingly untenable
The Texas Court of Appeals in Austin has sustained a lower court order awarding the property belonging to an Episcopal Church in San Angelo to the Diocese and the continuing vestry and parishioners. The Court rejected the claims of secessionist members of the congregation.
Although there may yet be an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, this is a big win for the Diocese of NW Texas. It bolsters the legal theory that Episcopal Church property belongs to the Episcopal Church and those duly constituted dioceses governed by its Constitution and Canons.
The opinion also approves the trial court's application of "Neutral Principals of Law" by including the canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese among the governing documents applicable to property ownership. Read the opinion
January 24, 2011
Legal Case for Secessionists in Fort Worth Implodes
A Texas Judge has ruled that would-be secessionists in the Diocese of Fort Worth, who say they have realigned themselves with another Anglican province, have no claim to Episcopal Church property. The ruling against former Bishop Jack Iker and his anti-Episcopal Church supporters is in line with decisions being reached in almost every similar case in the country.
The ruling against Iker, an ally of former SC Bishop Edward Salmon and Bishop Lawrence, does not directly affect the current peculiar efforts of the Diocese of South Carolina to distance itself from the National Church.
However, it is a further reminder that judges around the country are not buying the argument that there is a legal justification for a diocese to consider itself "sovereign." Such a claim effectively denies that the Episcopal Church has any legal interest in Church property within the borders of the Diocese.
Lawrence and his Standing Committee convinced delegates to a gathering of parish leaders last fall to approve a resolution making such a claim.
SC Episcopalians continues to believe that the gathering, which the Diocese claims was a legitimate extension of its 2010 Diocesan Convention last April, was not authorized by its Constitution and Canons. We further maintain that as many as one-third of the members of the Standing Committee at the time were serving illegally. Read full story
Ga. Supreme Court Rejects Pawleys Island Decision, 6-1; Shoots Down Ugandans' Claim to Savannah's Christ Church
Read ENS Report
November 21, 2011
"SC Diocese Releases Property Claim"
The Post & Courier, Charleston SC by Adam Parker full story
November 20, 2011
Lawrence Allies Scramble to Record Deeds; Prudent Parishes Wary of Implications
Prudent vestries should review full implications of quitclaim deeds before accepting them
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, even those done in secret …” Ecclesiastes
CHARLESTON -- Several parishes aligned with Bishop Mark Lawrence scrambled to record quitclaim deeds they received from the Diocese last week, even as questions swirled about their legality and the impact they could have on parishes who accept them.
Once the deeds are accepted by the parish or recorded publicly, they can’t be taken back.
Among those reportedly going forward last week were St. James Episcopal Church on James Island, Christ Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant, The Church of the Good Shepherd and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in West Ashley, The Cathedral of St. Luke & St. Paul, St. John’s Episcopal Church on Johns Island, St. Helena's in Beaufort, Trinity Episcopal Church in Myrtle Beach, The Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Surfside Beach, and the Church of the Cross in Bluffton.
While SC Episcopalians is not a source of legal advice, we are hearing that more prudent vestries are planning to inform the Diocese that they are not accepting the quitclaim deed... until their lawyers, bankers, and insurance brokers have had a chance to assess its implications.
Every parish is different, and apparently every quitclaim deed issued by the Diocese is not the same. One size does not fit all.
The deeds, mailed out to the parishes last week, would relinquish any claim the Diocese might have on parish property should they be found to be valid. They could be seen by a parish as removing a potential obstacle to leaving the Episcopal Church, or they could lead to expensive and protracted litigation.
November 18, 2011
Lawrence Quietly Initiated Plan to Give Away Diocesan Property Claims Two Years Ago
2010 Deal with Bluffton parish was kept under wraps until Wednesday; Attacks on the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop were a smokescreen
BLUFFTON -- All the while claiming he was being loyal the Episcopal Church, SC Bishop Mark Lawrence was facilitating a possible departure from the Episcopal Church by a large parish in Bluffton nearly two years ago.
Apparently Lawrence and Standing Committee Chairman Jeffrey Miller quietly executed a "quitclaim deed" in February 2010, relinquishing the Diocese's legal interest in property belonging to the Church of the Cross. The deed wasn't recorded until Wednesday of this week.
Public disclosure of the deed's existence would have tipped off the rest of the Diocese and the Episcopal Church to Lawrence's plan to issue similar deeds to every parish in the Diocese this week. The Diocese's interest in the Bluffton property could be worth several million dollars.
During the same period the deed was being executed, Lawrence was publicly indignant over protests by traditional Episcopalians in the Diocese, who claimed he had violated his consecration oath to remain loyal to the "doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.
Also at that same time, Bishop Lawrence and the Rev. Mr. Miller were actually denouncing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori because the Episcopal Church was asking to see minutes of Standing Committee meetings and other legal documents that would have exposed their dealings with the Bluffton parish and others.
SC Episcopalians has been unable to find any evidence that the Bishop or the Standing Committee ever disclosed his generous gift to the Bluffton parish at either Diocesan convention held since that time.
November 18, 2011
Anti-Episcopal Church Group Releases Letter It Claims is from SC Chancellor
The American Anglican Council, one of several factions attacking the Episcopal Church, released a letter it claims has been sent to parishes in the Diocese of South Carolina from its Chancellor explaining Bishop Lawrence's recent actions relinquishing Diocesan interest in parish property.
If the letter is authentic, it is the first communication Bishop Lawrence has attempted with lay people in the matter. The group claims it went to every parish. Read it here
November 16, 2011
Diocese of SC Relinquishes Claim to Parishes' Properties
Attacks on the Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop have largely been a smokescreen; Bishop's latest move might make it easier for parishes to leave the Episcopal Church
SEABROOK ISLAND -- Relying on a questionable and untested state Supreme Court ruling, Bishop Mark Lawrence announced Tuesday night that he is providing every parish in the Diocese a legal deed, permanently relinquishing any interest the Diocese may hold in its parish property.
This action could remove a potential stumbling block to parishes wanting to leave the Episcopal Church with their church property. It could also create chaos in the Diocese and among parishes, since the legality of the deeds may be in question.
The secret scheme has been in the works for at least two years, while Lawrence and others created public distractions with attacks on the Episcopal Church and the Presiding Bishop.
Lawrence's most recent outrage will almost certainly force the hand of Episcopal Church leaders, who have largely ignored his erratic, anti-Church behavior since becoming bishop in early 2008.
In the past Lawrence has insisted that the Diocese of South Carolina is “sovereign,” and argued that the wider Episcopal Church has no legal interest in parish property in the Diocese.
In the view of anti-Church secessionists, the way is now clear for parishes to leave the Episcopal Church in much the same way as St. Andrew's in Mount Pleasant did last year with Lawrence's apparent blessing.
Lawrence announced this latest provocation at a three-day clergy conference at the Diocese's conference center on Seabrook Island. As is his style, Lawrence’s carefully-scripted presentation was delivered in a closed-door setting surrounded by clergy and others who are least likely to challenge him.
The mood at the conference was "militant", according to one participant. Many clergy described themselves as being “at war" with the Episcopal Church, which they see as "the enemy."
Other more level-headed participants said they felt a great deal of pressure not to object to what was clearly an event orchestrated to create support for the Bishop's decision. Most the more traditional parishes in the Diocese were not represented at the conference.
Lawrence's legal thinking appeared to be the work of a Beaufort attorney, not especially well-known for his expertise in Church law. The Diocese's lawyer, Chancellor Wade Logan, was absent as he has been at other Diocesan events in which the attorney from Beaufort seemed to be in charge.
How important is this? It could be very important.
In the Episcopal Church, all property is held in trust for the use of its parishes by the Church and the dioceses. It can be a fuzzy arrangement, but it brings legal protections, better management and maintenance, enhanced borrowing capacity, and continuity from one generation to the next, among other things.
However, in the past, Lawrence has taken the position that the Episcopal Church does not have any interest in parish property in the Diocese, a position that directly contradicts dozens of state and Federal decisions on this question. The action the Bishop announced Tuesday evening means that he is renouncing any legal interest the Diocese might have in that property as well.
In short he is saying, that parishes own their own property and can do whatever they'd like with it, including taking it with them if they want to leave the Episcopal Church.
In his way of thinking, the Episcopal Church has no say in what happens to the property.
What difference will this make? Initially, parish life will continue as it always has, but an impact eventually could be felt when it comes to parishes borrowing money, securing insurance, inheriting property, recruiting clergy, providing pensions and employee benefits, and attracting new members.
In addition, many parishes receive annual income to maintain their buildings from endowments left to them to further the work of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina. It is not clear if parishes could continue to use this money to maintain buildings in which the Diocese no longer has a legal interest.
Is this legal? For the moment, the Bishop's position may be uniquely valid in South Carolina. However, it is doubtful that it will withstand a legal challenge.
Here's why: Three years ago, the state's Supreme Court issued a ruling in the case of All Saints, Pawleys Island that seemed to suggest that the Episcopal Church -- and any other similarly structured church organization like the Presbyterians and Methodists -- does not have a legal interest in parish property held in trust by the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina.
All Saint's was trying to break away from the Episcopal Church and join the Anglican Province of Rwanda, which it eventually was allowed to do.
Legal authorities and those familiar with the Court's thinking say that the ruling was specific to the unique nature of All Saint's case. However, the Diocese of South Carolina, under Bishop Lawrence, disagrees.
Critical to the Court's ruling in the All Saints' case was a "quitclaim" deed executed by the Diocese in 1903 relinquishing any legal interest it might have to All Saints' property.
The existence of that deed tipped the Court's view of property ownership in favor of All Saints' over that of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese.
Bishop Lawrence told the clergy Tuesday that he has quietly executed similar "quitclaim" deeds for each parish in the Diocese.
Unfortunately, Lawrence’s action almost guarantees protracted legal battles. The SC Court's ruling, under which Lawrence is acting, appears to have no authority beyond South Carolina. However, to have it declared invalid will likely require a Court challenge and appeal.
Last night's announcement will almost certainly accelerate an ongoing review of Lawrence's conduct by the Church's Disciplinary Board for Bishops. That review was initiated by communicants in the Diocese who believe that the cumulative effect of Lawrence’s four turbulent years as our bishop amounts to a renunciation of his oath of loyalty to the "doctrine, discipline, and worship of the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Lawrence's supporters expect that the quitclaim deeds will make it easier for parishes in the Diocese to leave the Episcopal Church. Many are hoping they will choose to affiliate with the anti-Episcopal Church organization known as "The Anglican Church of North America."
ACNA operates under the leadership of Lawrence's mentor, deposed Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan and his "Vicar General" in the Carolinas, former Episcopal priest Steve Wood. ACNA is not affiliated with the Episcopal Church and not part of the Anglican Communion.
October 18, 2011
Deposed Bishop Duncan, "Anglican Diocese" Lose in Court Again; Breakaway Parishes must Negotiate with Continuing Diocese for use of Parish Property
PITTSBURGH -- Deposed Bishop Robert Duncan admitted defeat today as the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in essence refused to allow parishes in the Diocese of Pittsburgh seeking to join Duncan’s ad-hoc "Anglican Diocese" to walk off with parish properties.
Instead, they will have to negotiate with the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, if they want to continue to use them. The decision today, which conforms to others in breakaway dioceses, effectively ends a struggle for the property. Duncan issued a statement accepting the ruling. Read Duncan's statement
September 28, 2011
SC Diocese Rejects Church's View that its Actions are "Null and Void"
Diocese sticks to dubious claim that its rejection of "accession" to the National Church's Constitution is legal
The Diocese of South Carolina reasserted today that its Constitution is not subject to that of the Episcopal Church because of its status as a founding diocese of the Church.
In a letter to the Secretary of the Church's Executive Council, Bishop Lawrence and Standing Committee Chairman Paul Fuener disputed a determination this summer by the Council's Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Administration that the Diocese's recent actions, removing accession to the Church's Constitution, are "null and void." (See article below).
The back-and-forth between the Diocese and Church officials was generated by an inquiry last spring from Charleston Attorney Melinda Lucka and other SC Episcopalians, questioning the legitimacy of the Diocese's actions.
Click here to see the Diocese's entire response.
September 21, 2011
Episcopal Church tells Diocese that Recent Changes to its Constitution are Meaningless
Removal of Access Clause is "null and void"
An official of the Episcopal Church informed Bishop Mark Lawrence this month that recent changes made to the Constitution of the Diocese of South Carolina are “null and void” in the eyes of the Episcopal Church.
Last February delegates to the 2011 Diocesan Convention gave final approval to amendments to the Diocese’s governing document eliminating “accession” to the Episcopal Church's Constitution.
Accession means that a Diocese agrees that the national Church’s Constitution supersedes that of the Diocese when they are in conflict. The actions of the Convention, approved and supported by the Bishop and Standing Committee, would have reversed that relationship.
According to the Secretary of the Church’s Executive Council, members of its Joint Standing Committee on Governance and Administration determined over the summer that the actions of the Diocesan Convention are sufficiently similar to those taken by rebellious Dioceses of Quincy, San Joaquin, Pittsburgh, and Fort Worth in previous years as to be covered by the same 2007 Executive Council Resolution (NAC023) that declared them meaningless.
The Resolution specifically states that “any diocesan amendment that purports in any way to limit or lessen an unqualified accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church are null and void, as if such amendments had not been passed.”
It goes further to say that this determination is applicable, not just to those four dioceses, but any other dioceses that take “steps or have adopted amendments that purport in any way to limit or lessen unqualified accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church”.
In short, once a diocese commits to join the Episcopal Church, it has no authority to leave. Individual clergy and lay people can leave, but a diocese as a corporate entity can’t.
Bishop Lawrence, who claims the Diocese of South Carolina is “sovereign”, has argued that the Diocese wasn’t “intending” to leave the Church, even though he and the Standing Committee were fully aware that accession to the Church’s Constitution is essential to membership.
The underlying issue here is the ownership of Episcopal Church property in the Diocese, specifically the property of parishes that might want to leave the Episcopal Church. The Bishop and the Standing Committee of the Diocese argue that they alone have the authority to decide what happens to it.
(These controversial amendments are probably also meaningless since the Diocese appears to have violated its own Constitution and Canons to re-convene the 2010 Diocesan Convention to adopt them. Read more)
March 17, 2011
Texas Secessionists Out of Options as Another Court backs the Episcopal Church
Legal victories for the Episcopal Church add up, as the position of Diocese of SC becomes increasingly untenable
The Texas Court of Appeals in Austin has sustained a lower court order awarding the property belonging to an Episcopal Church in San Angelo to the Diocese and the continuing vestry and parishioners. The Court rejected the claims of secessionist members of the congregation.
Although there may yet be an appeal to the Texas Supreme Court, this is a big win for the Diocese of NW Texas. It bolsters the legal theory that Episcopal Church property belongs to the Episcopal Church and those duly constituted dioceses governed by its Constitution and Canons.
The opinion also approves the trial court's application of "Neutral Principals of Law" by including the canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese among the governing documents applicable to property ownership. Read the opinion
January 24, 2011
Legal Case for Secessionists in Fort Worth Implodes
A Texas Judge has ruled that would-be secessionists in the Diocese of Fort Worth, who say they have realigned themselves with another Anglican province, have no claim to Episcopal Church property. The ruling against former Bishop Jack Iker and his anti-Episcopal Church supporters is in line with decisions being reached in almost every similar case in the country.
The ruling against Iker, an ally of former SC Bishop Edward Salmon and Bishop Lawrence, does not directly affect the current peculiar efforts of the Diocese of South Carolina to distance itself from the National Church.
However, it is a further reminder that judges around the country are not buying the argument that there is a legal justification for a diocese to consider itself "sovereign." Such a claim effectively denies that the Episcopal Church has any legal interest in Church property within the borders of the Diocese.
Lawrence and his Standing Committee convinced delegates to a gathering of parish leaders last fall to approve a resolution making such a claim.
SC Episcopalians continues to believe that the gathering, which the Diocese claims was a legitimate extension of its 2010 Diocesan Convention last April, was not authorized by its Constitution and Canons. We further maintain that as many as one-third of the members of the Standing Committee at the time were serving illegally. Read full story
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