From South Carolina-The South Carolina diocese that left the national Episcopal Church said Wednesday that a federal lawsuit brought against it seeks to undermine state courts.
"The national church's suit is an apparent effort to move a state property rights case to a court that might support the denomination's seizure of local assets," said the Rev. Jim Lewis, the canon, or assistant, to Bishop Mark Lawrence.
Lawrence is bishop of the diocese that broke away from the church last year in disputes over ordaining gays and other issues.
When the diocese left, it had 70 congregations with about 29,000 parishioners. Nineteen parishes and six worship groups are remaining in the national church and they elected Charles vonRosenberg as bishop of their diocese earlier this year. Nineteen of the parishes in the eastern and southern part of the state have not yet decided which group they will align with.
vonRosenberg sued Lawrence in federal court last week asking a judge to immediately block Lawrence and the churches that left from using the names and seal of the Diocese of South Carolina. But earlier, a state judge in Dorchester County issued Lawrence and his diocese a temporary injunction allowing them to do just that.
Read more here:
http://www.thestate.com/2013/03/13/2674010/episcopal-diocese-suit-undermines.html#storylink=cpy
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