A two-year-old church property dispute between Episcopalians and Anglicans may now be played out in Virginia Supreme Court.
Citing a determination "to restore constitutional and legal protections for all churches in Virginia," The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia filed a petition April 7 to appeal a recent Fairfax County Circuit Court decision in favor of breakaway churches in an ongoing property dispute.
The property dispute originally arose as a result of 11 churches that decided to break off from the Episcopal Church because they assert that church leadership was not following a proper reading of Scripture, particularly on the issue of homosexuality.
Among the area congregations now aligned with the Anglican District of Virginia are Christ the Redeemer in Centreville, Church of the Apostles in Fairfax, Church of the Epiphany in Herndon, Church of Our Saviour in Oatlands, Potomac Falls Episcopal in Sterling, Truro in Fairfax City and The Falls Church in Falls Church.
The Diocese is appealing on a number of grounds, including a challenge to the constitutionality of Virginia’s one-of-a-kind division statute (Va. Code § 57 9(A)), which the diocese says "threatens the religious liberties of all denominations in Virginia," and the rulings by Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows in applying the law.
More here-
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/news/2009/apr/16/episcopal-property-case-goes-va-supreme-court/
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