The civil suit follows months of theological dispute and hostile actions by Bishop Smith, who stands in "opposition to traditional Christianity and Anglican teaching." Bishop Seabury Church, Groton; Christ Church, Watertown; Christ & The Epiphany Church, East Haven; St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Darien; Trinity Church, Bristol; and St. John's Episcopal Church, Bristol, have consistently supported traditional Christian belief and teaching regarding human sexuality, also upheld by the Four Instruments of Anglican Unity. In light of the serious conflict, the six churches requested alternative episcopal oversight, a request denied by Bishop Smith. Central to the complaint is the contention that Bishop Smith's actions are motivated by a desire to impose "his own singular views of canon law, church polity and theology" on the congregations and clergy because they reject his revisionist views on theology, particularly on human sexuality.

"We have been left with no choice but to seek intervention by the civil courts in order to protect our constitutional rights and serve our congregations without interference and harassment," said the Rev. Christopher Leighton, rector of St. Paul's, Darien. "We are being punished for upholding Biblical truth as well as Anglican teaching, faith and practice, and our ability to proclaim the Gospel is being dramatically hindered."

The suit asserts that the State of Connecticut has given special legal status to the constitutions and canons of the Episcopal Church USA (ECUSA) and to the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut not provided to all religions and charitable entities. Such incorporation of Episcopal constitutional and canonical components into Connecticut statutes effectively codifies them as civil law. The complaint alleges that the state of Connecticut "has entangled itself in every aspect of the temporal and certain aspects of the spiritual, operations of all the Episcopal parishes" such that Bishop Smith and other defendants represent the government in their actions. This blending of state and church violates the First Amendment prohibition against government establishment of a religion and the Fourteen Amendment guarantee of equal protection under the law, thereby supporting a claim of "state action" in respect to civil rights.

The comprehensive and multifaceted complaint outlines numerous actions of Bishop Smith and the other defendants which deprived the congregations, clergy, wardens and vestries of their constitutional rights to freedom of speech, association, inquiry and thought, property, privacy, due process of law, and equal protection of the law. The suit asserts that the effect of these various violations resulted in "chilling" their right to freedom of religion.

Specifically, the complaint states that Bishop Smith, and those in concert with him, fraudulently charged the six clergy with "abandonment of communion," which is not only a misuse of the canon but also denies them the due process of ecclesiastical trials. The suit contends that these charges were made with the intent "to defraud the Plaintiff-Parishes of their assets." In addition, there are allegations that Bishop Smith and other defendants interfered with the fiduciary relationship between three of the parishes and entities holding investment accounts, unlawfully preventing disbursement of funds as requested by Bishop Seabury Church, Christ Church, and Christ & the Epiphany Church. The complaint outlines numerous counts of fraud, misrepresentation, and breach of fiduciary duty, actions which violate the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA).

The suit also lists unlawful actions against St. John's Church, Bristol, including: trespass, seizing church property, fraudulently claiming ownership of the church and all its assets, and appointing a parish administrator and priest-in-charge, thereby usurping legal and canonical rights of the wardens and vestry. The charges include seizing private and confidential parish records, actions violating privacy laws; committing assault and battery against the parish secretary; and using tactics of harassment and intimidation against church staff and vestry members. The suit declares that the defendants changed locks in order to deny access to the church staff, wardens, vestry and congregation, preventing them from conducting both business and worship. In addition, defendants are accused of disabling the parish website, redirecting it to the diocese's website, and then transferring the domain name. The complaint also says that Bishop Smith's agents falsely represented his authority and that the bishop is preventing the congregation's access to their bank accounts and post office box.

The complaint asserts that Bishop Griswold "aided and abetted" the Diocese of Connecticut by refusing to intervene when notified of the false "abandonment of communion" charges and the illegal seizure of St. John's, noting that his failure to respond constitutes an endorsement of Smith's alleged misconduct. Further, the suit states that the Presiding Bishop "provided support and resources" for Smith.

The plaintiffs seek relief and judgment in a jury trial on all matters cited in the complaint as well as punitive damages.

http://www.ctsix.org/

EDITOR'S NOTE: Click the following link to read the complete legal brief regarding this case.
http://www.virtueonline.org/stories/ctsix_complaint_final.pdf

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