Appellate court rules in favor of Episcopalians in property dispute

Christ Church has until July 18 to appeal panel's ruling in property dispute
July 9, 2010
By Dana Clark Felty

The state's Court of Appeals issued a ruling Thursday in favor of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and the national church in their two-and-a-half year property dispute with a breakaway congregation.

A three-judge panel upheld Chatham County Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf's 2009 decision naming the Episcopal Church the rightful owners of Christ Church in Savannah.

Church members and leaders have continued occupying the historic Johnson Square house of worship since voting to leave the denomination in September 2007, when they accused the national church of straying from the Bible.

They now have until July 18 to notify the courts whether they will continue with the appeal. the rest

Georgia Court of Appeals Rubber-Stamps Christ Church Savannah Decision
A.S. Haley
Thursday, July 8, 2010

Let ECUSA add another notch to its belt: it has yet one more case to string-cite for the proposition that it is a "heirarchical" church. In a unanimous decision filed earlier this afternoon, three judges of the Georgia Court of Appeals (Second Division) have affirmed the decision by the Hon. Michael Karpf, which granted summary judgment to ECUSA and the Diocese of Georgia that the property and assets of Christ Church Savannah (Georgia's oldest church, which predates the founding of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America) reverted to them when its congregation voted to withdraw from the Diocese. The decision relies upon much of Judge Karpf's opinion for its analysis and conclusions; hence the "rubber stamp" of my title:

We find no error and affirm the trial court's order. In fact, Superior Court Judge Michael Karpf, in his twenty-one page order, thoroughly and correctly detailed the history of Christ Church and the National Episcopal Church, and he properly analyzed the relevant statutes and church documents. We have incorporated much of his order in our opinion.

Do not look, therefore for any independent testing or analysis of the arguments which swayed Judge Karpf; they are simply repeated here again. For that reason, I would refer the interested reader back to this earlier post for a more detailed refutation of those arguments. the rest

San Joaquin: Episcopal Dioceses sues to get church back
July 8, 2010

The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin is suing the former members of St. Paul’s, Visalia, seeking return of church property to the diocese.

Members of St. Paul’s are among those former Episcopalians who broke away from the national church and joined a more conservative arm of the Anglican church. The San Joaquin Valley churches were the first diocese to break away from the Episcopal Church in a schism over the church’s stand on various issues. Not all churches joined the revolt and the diocese has since been reconstituted...