On Tuesday Judge Randy Bellows of the Fairfax Circuit Court ruled against seven breakaway Anglican parishes in Virginia, finding that if their congregations wish to break away from the Episcopal Church in the USA, the mainstream branch of the Anglican communion in America, they have to return their church property to the diocese. If the churches don’t appeal, about $40 million in property will be turned over to the Diocese of Virginia and some will likely be sold off to pay down the line of credit the diocese took out to fund the litigation.
The case is especially high-profile because of the growing Anglican conservative movement, the millions of dollars in combined assets between the breakaway churches and - in The Falls Church and Truro parish’s case – colonial roots. Time and time again, the Episcopal Church has resorted to vindictive litigation against the property of dissenting congregations, they’ve made it clear that they aren’t going to let the breakaway Anglicans go gracefully, despite the overwhelming wishes of the congregations themselves.
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