January 6, 2006

To the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry of Grace Episcopal Church

I am advised that later today, Grace Episcopal Church will cease functioning as a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Florida and that it is your intent to attempt to place your congregation and the parish property under the authority of the Archbishop of Rwanda, Africa. I write to inform you that the canon law of the Episcopal Church of the United States and the Diocese of Florida precludes you from disposing of the parish's property in this manner.

The Episcopal Diocese of Florida holds title to all property upon which Grace Church operates. The Canons of the Episcopal Church further provide that a parish's real and personal property is held in trust for the benefit of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese in which the parish is located. The parish's rector, wardens, and vestry, as the parish's governing body, are the trustees of this trust and, as such, have a fiduciary duty to protect the parish property for the benefit of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese.

As Rector, Wardens, and Vestry, you are bound to comply with the Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Florida. Canon 21, Section IV, of the Diocese's canons provides that "[i]n case of the dissolution or extinction of [a] Parish for any cause whatsoever, the lands, tenements, and other estates, real or personal . . . shall vest in The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Florida." This emphasizes the fact that if and when Grace Episcopal Church ceases to function as a parish of the Diocese of Florida, all of its property remains the property of the Diocese of Florida.

I am bound, just as you are, to adhere to the Church's canon law. My obligation to uphold the canon law derives from the oath I took when ordained and consecrated Bishop. Your obligation, which continues even now, derives from promises and commitments which you have made. In the case of your rector, those promises were made at his ordination and at his institution as your rector by the Episcopal Bishop of Florida. In the case of vestry members, your promises and commitments are rooted in the canonical offices which you hold.

The principles reflected in the Church's canon law as it relates to parish property have been enforced by many courts, including the Supreme Court of Florida. The most recent enforcement occurred in a case brought in a Pennsylvania court by the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania and its Bishop against a parish vestry that had caused the parish to leave the Church and deny the Diocese its beneficial use of the parish property. The court recognized the fiduciary duty of the vestry to maintain the property in trust for the benefit of the Diocese and ruled that the vestry, in refusing to maintain the property for that purpose, had acted with "bad faith and breached their fiduciary duties." Members of the vestry (those named as defendants) were held individually liable for the expenses the Diocese and Bishop incurred in the litigation. The court's application of the law of trusts was consistent with what a Florida court would do if faced with a similar case.

As I have made clear on a number of occasions, each of you has my blessing if you feel that you must leave the Episcopal Church. You and I have, however, undertaken commitments and have made promises to be good stewards and caretakers of the property of the Diocese of Florida and of the Episcopal Church. Those are commitments we are obliged to keep no matter what our future church affiliation may be. I pray that as the persons responsible for maintaining Grace Episcopal Church, you will keep all of this in mind as you consider your actions as leaders of that parish.

Faithfully,

The Rt. Rev. Samuel J. Howard