Va. Supreme Court rules on ownership of The Falls Church

From Virginia-

The Virginia Supreme Court last week affirmed the finding of a Fairfax County Circuit Court judge in the case of The Falls Church, potentially ending a six-year battle over the church’s ownership.

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.

Of the original 11 congregations, only The Falls Church — which originally was founded in 1732 and predates the establishment of the Episcopal church in America—appealed a 2012 decision by Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows stating the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia had “a contractual and proprietary interest” in each of the properties subject to the litigation.

Bellows ordered all the properties be returned back to the Episcopal Diocese, and all but the Falls Church complied without an appeal.

More here-

http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20130426/NEWS/130429290/1117/va-supreme-court-rules-on-ownership-of-the-falls-church&template=fairfaxTimes