Church In Bristol Settles Dispute With Episcopal Diocese

By ELIZABETH HAMILTON
Courant Staff Writer
May 29, 2008

In the end, former members of Trinity Church in Bristol decided it wasn't worth the fight.

The parishioners have settled their legal dispute with the Episcopal Diocese by agreeing to relinquish their historic church home. In return, both the diocese and the national Episcopal Church will withdraw their lawsuit against Trinity's priest and its leaders.

The diocese took legal action last year after the congregation defected from the Episcopal Church in a theological dispute and aligned itself with a more conservative Anglican group, but refused to leave the property.

The settlement was not unexpected. Negotiations have been underway since the beginning of this year to resolve the case before it went to trial. the rest