The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is suing three Southern California
churches, including St. James Church in Newport Beach. The diocese alleges that the churches committed a breach of fiduciary duty when they broke away from the diocese and aligned with an African church in the worldwide Anglican Communion last month.

The churches announced secession Aug. 17, stating they did not agree with the Episcopal Church's liberal views on homosexuality, the divinity of Jesus Christ and the supremacy of the Bible.

The land on Via Lido, where St. James Church sits, belongs to a nonprofit organization called The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Parish, which was set up in the late 1940s, property deeds show.

The property of a mission is typically held under the name and control of the diocese and its bishop. But in California, the parish is usually
organized as a nonprofit corporation run by an elected vestry or board of directors. The rector of the parish, in this case Praveen Bunyan, acts as the president of the church corporation.

But diocesan officials say it doesn't matter whose name is on a piece of
stamped paper.

The lawsuit states the "canons of the Episcopal Church, which were
repeatedly adopted and ratified by the parish and expressly incorporated into its Articles of Incorporation and by-laws provide: All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any parish, mission or congregation is held in trust for this church and diocese thereof."

The lawsuit also says the founders of St. James swore in their application to become a parish that the church would be "forever held under and conform to and be bound by the ecclesiastical authority of the Bishop of Los Angeles and his successors in office" and the constitution and canons of the Episcopal Church.

The canons, laws written by the Episcopal Church, clearly state the church properties are held for the benefit of the diocese, said John Shiner, the attorney representing the diocese.

"The churches that seceded did not follow those canons they had agreed to follow," he said.

But Eric Sohlgren, an attorney for the seceded churches, said the judges should and will base their verdict on California real estate law, not canon law.

As precedent, Sohlgren uses a 1981 case, Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles vs. John D. Barker. About 23 years ago, the diocese was in a similar situation, fighting four churches that broke away because they were unhappy with the diocese's ordination of female priests.

Three out of the four churches in that fight succeeded in keeping their
respective churches and surrounding properties. The churches initially lost the case but won it on appeal.

In the initial case, Sohlgren said, the judges looked at two things =97 who owns the deed to the land and who contributes money to whom.

"The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. James Parish own the deed to the property, and secondly, for many, many years, St. James has been contributing to the diocese, not the other way around," he said.

Last year alone, St. James contributed about $72,000 to the diocese, Bunyan said.

"That's pretty close to the amount of money we've donated to the diocese every year for the last 55 years," he said.

The churches in the 1981 case also amended their articles of incorporation to delete all references to the diocese and Episcopal Church of the United States, just as St. James did.

It's unfair to compare what churches in other states have done with similar lawsuits involving the Episcopal Church, Sohlgren said.

"California is a state that follows the neutral principles of law," he said.

"The courts step back and look at who would own the property if it were not a church. Courts are supposed to follow published law and precedents."

But canon law can still apply in a court of law, Shiner said.

"There are many precedents after Barker, which show that California courts have upheld church canon laws," he said.

Bunyan said he is cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the lawsuit.

"We're confident, but we're also not naeve about it," he said.

The congregation voted 280 to 12 to secede from the Episcopal Church and 340 to 4 in favor of amending the Articles of Incorporation, Bunyan said. The church's membership is 1,200, but that number includes babies, children and adolescents, he said.

"It even includes people who moved away but haven't let us know," he said.

"Our quorum for an annual meeting is 200, and the number of people who attended these meetings exceeded that number."

Church administrators made phone calls to inform every family about the important meeting, Bunyan said.

All church members who voted in favor of the secession are in it for the
long haul, he said.

"For so many years, they have poured everything they have into this church," Bunyan said. "They want to see all that used for something they believe in."

DEEPA BHARATH is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.