Judge rules in Episcopal property case

From Virginia-

A ruling in a five-year legal battle between the Anglican District and Episcopal Diocese of Virginia — that already has been heard by the state's highest court — has been issued by a Fairfax County judge.

Eleven churches broke away from the Episcopal Church in early 2007 to join a more conservative Anglican Church under the auspices of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. The Angican churches, however, kept the Episcopal Church properties.

On Tuesday, Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows reversed his original 2008 ruling that the breakaway congregations were entitled to the properties under a Civil War-era law called the "Division Statute."

The statute, Va. Code § 57-9, provides that when a religious denomination or diocese experiences a "division," member congregations may determine by majority vote which branch of the divided body they want to join. It also states this determination governs the ownership of property held in trust for that congregation.

More here-

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20120113/NEWS/701139706/1117/judge-rules-in-episcopal-property-case&template=fairfaxTimes