The five-member panel consisting of three bishops, a priest and a layperson also set March 28-30 as dates for a disciplinary hearing to be held against Bruno in Los Angeles.

Robert Williams, spokesman for the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, declined to comment "since both civil litigation and canonical proceedings continue in these matters."

The 71-year-old St. James the Great congregation has been locked out of the property since July 2015, even after the planned sale to the developer, who wanted to build 22 luxury townhomes where the 40,000-square-foot church building stands on Via Lido, fell through.

Buried in the church's rose garden are the cremated remains of 12 former parishioners and some family members have expressed concern about not being able to go into the property to visit their loved one's resting place. The diocese has promised to move the cremated remains respectfully, at no cost, to another location of the families' choice.

Bruno has since refused to allow the congregation to return to the building. Members have been gathering for Sunday services at a meeting room in Newport Beach Civic Center, with Sunday school held in the outdoor plaza, said church member Walter Stahr.

"It's going to get more difficult as winter approaches," Stahr said, adding that he was disappointed at the panel's decision Friday not to order the bishop to allow the congregation back into the building until the disciplinary issues could be resolved.

"My understanding is that the panel was sympathetic to our position, but they were unsure if they had the authority to order the bishop to let us back into the building," he said.

The charges against Bruno that will be heard during the hearings in March include entering into a sale agreement without proper authorization, making false statements to the congregation and Newport Beach city officials regarding his intentions for the property and locking out the congregation in "conduct unbecoming a bishop."

The property is still mired in civil litigation. The congregation sued the diocese saying the church had no right to lock them out. The court ruled April 20 in the diocese's favor and the congregation is appealing the ruling.

In another lawsuit filed last year, the group that gave the Via Lido land to St. James in 1945, Griffith Co., is objecting to the diocese's plan to sell the property for development. Griffith says the property's deed includes a clause that requires the land to remain exclusively as a church.

Bruno countered with a legal complaint against Griffith Co., arguing that the restriction was lifted about 30 years ago. In May, the court ruled in favor of the bishop and the diocese. That decision is being appealed as well.

The congregation of 100 faithful, in the mean time, are still in waiting mode, Stahr said.

"We don't have pews or stained glass windows and many of our children are still awaiting baptism," he said. "But we still remain a strong Episcopalian congregation."