Anglicans allege ‘intimidation’ in attempt to name defendants
Jun 29, 2007 by William C. Flook
The Examiner

Fairfax County (Map, News) - Virginia Anglicans who split from the Episcopal Church last year are accusing their former diocese of “intimidation,” after the diocese moved to specifically name dozens of its former congregants in a land lawsuit.

A hearing is set today in Fairfax County Circuit Court to resolve whether about 75 now anonymous defendants — all vestry members or trustees of eight dissident churches — can be named in the suit.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia is suing to reclaim the properties after one of the most high-profile rifts within the Christian Church in modern American history. The conservative congregations left the Episcopal Church in December after a long-standing feud over the interpretation of scripture, a fight intensified by the ordination of a gay bishop four years ago in New England.

“It’s just harassment of defendants, that’s all it is,” Jim Oakes, vice chair of the Anglican District of Virginia, the umbrella group for the churches, said of the most recent motion. “It’s frankly intimidating to soccer moms and people who aren’t used to encountering our legal system.” the rest

Press release:
The Episcopal Church and Diocese of Virginia Seek to Sue More Unpaid Volunteers of Virginia Churches

FAIRFAX, Va. (June 29, 2007) – Counsel for the eleven churches, including their rectors, vestries and, in some instances, their trustees, which have been sued by The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia, filed a memo opposing the denomination’s motion to add more volunteer trustees and lay leaders (known as “vestry members”) as defendants in the lawsuit (Multi-Circuit Property Litigation, Case No. CL-2007-0248724, Fairfax County Circuit Court).

If granted, The Episcopal Church’s and the Diocese’s motion would automatically add 76 additional unpaid church volunteers to the lawsuit and anyone else who might volunteer to serve as a Vestry member or Trustee of any of the local churches in the future. the rest