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The litigation has been ongoing since 2007 when 87% of Christ Church (CC) members in good standing voted to uphold the unanimous decision of its board to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church (TEC) because of its revisionist theological trends over the last several decades.
In an effort to seize the property, TEC subsequently sued Christ Church, its rector and individual board members. TEC's 1979 passage of the Dennis Canon claims a unilateral trust over all property of Episcopal churches nationwide without regard to title or state property laws. Christ Church has owned the Johnson Square property since the 1700s, first by land grant from the English Royal Council, and, after the Revolutionary War, by a charter of incorporation from the 1789 Georgia state legislature.
"Christ Church has always maintained clear title to the property and has never agreed to hold its property in trust for any entity. We are reviewing the ruling and will meet to determine our next course of action which could include an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if warranted," stated Jim Gardner, CC legal counsel. "At its core this case is about fundamental property rights of individual congregations in hierarchical churches," he continued.
In his dissenting opinion, Judge S. Phillip Brown described the majority decision with these words: "Today's majority opinion effectively eviscerates many of Georgia's property laws, trust laws, and equity laws..."
VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - SAVANNAH: GA: State Supreme Court Rules in favor of TEC in Christ Church Dispute:
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