Anglican Parish Appeals Fairfax Court Decision

From Virginia-

The Anglican parish that was forced out of The Falls Church filed a petition for appeal with the Virginia Supreme Court Friday.

The parish left the church May 15 after Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows told The Falls Church and six other congregations in the Northern Virginia area in December to give their church property to the diocese they divorced years ago. The 113-page ruling came after almost five years of litigation and hundreds of thousands of dollars in congregation-donated defense funds.

The petition requests the court review a number of legal and constitutional grounds, according to a statement released Friday.

A senior member of the congregation could not be reached for comment.

The parish alleges Bellows ordered them to transfer the church’s real property, approximately $2.8 million in funds contributed by its members prior to 2007, and most of its personal property (bibles, hymnals, furniture, etc.), to the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, according to the statement. Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, attorney general of Virginia, filed a brief in support of the church’s request for review of the trial court’s treatment of funds contributed by donors, according to the statement.
More here-

http://fallschurch.patch.com/articles/anglican-parish-appeals-fairfax-court-decision