Fairfax, USA - The Episcopal Church yesterday denounced as an unconstitutional violation of religious freedom a Fairfax judge's decision favoring a group of 11 breakaway conservative churches based on a Civil War-era Virginia law on church divisions.
Circuit Judge Randy Bellows declared that a "division" had occurred in the Diocese of Virginia, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in the long-running dispute over biblical authority and sexuality. The judge ruled that Virginia's 1867 "division statute" therefore could, pending rulings on other issues, let the parishes leave with their property.
"We are obviously disappointed in yesterday's ruling," said a statement from Episcopal Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori about the 83-page decision released late Thursday night.
The decision "plainly deprives the Episcopal Church and the Diocese, as well as all hierarchical churches, of their historic constitutional rights to structure their polity free from governmental interference," she said, "and thus violates the First Amendment and cannot be enforced."
The Virginia statute — passed to deal with Civil War denominational splits over slavery and related issues — allows dissident churches to keep their property if a majority votes to break away.
The 11 churches' decision to leave the Episcopal Church was triggered specifically by the consecration of the openly gay New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson in 2003.
"The court finds that a division has occurred in the diocese," the judge agreed in his ruling. "Over 7 percent of the churches in the diocese, 11 percent of its baptized membership and 18 percent of the diocesan average attendance of 32,000 [per Sunday] have left in the past two years."
He added, "Evidence of a 'division' within the diocese, the Episcopal Church USA, and the Anglican Communion is not only compelling, but overwhelming."
Henry Burt, diocesan spokesman, suggested the ruling imperils religious freedom.
"At issue is the government"s ability to intrude into the freedom of the Episcopal Church and other churches to organize and govern themselves according to their faith and doctrine," he said.
In a letter to members of the diocese posted on www.thediocese.net, Virginia Bishop Peter Lee said the 11 churches are still "wrongfully occupying Episcopal Church property" but that "this was not a final decision and the court did not award any property or assets."
Doug Smith, executive director for the Virginia Interfaith Center for Public Policy in Richmond, called the judge's decision "chilling," adding leaders of other mainline denominations represented by his center are "gravely concerned."
"It seems that government is attempting to take over governance of the Episcopal Church," he said. "This preliminary ruling puts every hierarchical denomination on notice that a group of persons who no longer wish to be part of the particular denomination can now split off, form a new group, self-declare they are a branch of the original group and assert rights under law regardless of the denomination's own rules."
The next step is a legal battle over the constitutionality of the Civil War-era law. Lawyers for the Anglican District of Virginia — an umbrella group for the 11 churches — the diocese and the Episcopal Church will argue the case May 28 at the Fairfax County courthouse.
A representative of Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who filed a motion on behalf of the dissidents in January, will argue in favor of the statute's constitutionality.
Steffen Johnson, an ADV attorney, said Judge Bellows has already received legal briefs from both sides on the constitutionality question; hence the oral arguments may be brief.
The statute says all rulings are additionally "conclusive as to the title to and control of any property," he added, meaning the property automatically goes to the breakaways. They include some of Virginia's most historic churches such as Truro Episcopal in Fairfax and The Falls Church in Falls Church.
"Obviously this is a victory not only for Falls Church, Truro and the nine other congregations but for every Episcopal congregation in Virginia that is considering its future with the denomination," Mr. Steffen said.