SC diocese to seek rehearing before state Supreme Court

08 Aug 2017
by George Conger

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina will challenge last week’s decision by the state’s Supreme Court awarding over two dozen of its congregations to the national Episcopal Church. In a statement released on 7 Aug 2017, the diocesan standing committee said they would seek a rehearing before the court, and were pursuing other legal remedies.

On 2 Aug 2017 the South Carolina Supreme Court in a 3-2 ruling partly overturned and partly upheld an earlier District Court ruling that had favored the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina over the national church. The majority reversed the 3 Feb 2015 lower court ruling on the trusteeship of 29 of 36 disputed parish properties. A final ruling would affect more than $500 million in diocesan and parish properties.

The ruling has come under sharp legal and ethical criticism, with Anglican Ink’s legal Allan Haley writing the decision was tainted by a “massive conflict of interest” by one of the justices. the rest

A Message from the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina