A long-awaited property- settlement decision in Fairfax Circuit Court apparently will not be the end of a two-year-long conflict between a minority group of conservative congregations in the Episcopal Church that broke away from the church to join the Anglican District of Virginia.
On Dec. 19, Fairfax Judge Randy Bellows upheld the long-debated Division Statute, which was the backbone of the Anglican Church's case.
The break-away congregations include several from Fairfax and Loudoun counties. They decided to break off from the Episcopal Church after determining that church leadership was not following a proper reading of Scripture, particularly on the issue of homosexuality.
The Civil-War-era Division Statute is the key factor in determining the legal ownership of the breakaway churches, including Truro and The Falls Church.
An appeal of Bellow's decision to the Virginia Supreme Court is being prepared by the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.
Both sides have already spent about $2 million each in court costs.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/news/2008/dec/23/episcopal-property-dispute-may-head-va-supreme-cou/
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