Under the deal Our Saviour will lease the Oatlands church from the Diocese for up to five years and retain the parish funds it has on hand. Our Saviour will use a significant portion of those funds for maintenance and much-needed repairs of the Oatlands church. At Our Saviour's request, the congregation will also retain several memorial items.

The real kicker, however, is that Our Saviour will also voluntarily disaffiliate from any connection to the Convocation of Anglican Churches in North America (CANA), the Anglican District of Virginia (ADV), and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The parish also agreed that no bishop will visit the congregation without the permission of the Bishop of Virginia. (This means he will never approve of CANA Bishop Martyn Minns)

This inhibition only applies during the time the congregation uses these current premises. When they move to larger quarters which may be within the year, they can affiliate with whomever they choose, said Fr. Elijah White to VOL.

The Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston, Bishop of Virginia described the settlement as "heartening."

This is a major slap down at Bishop Martyn Minns, CANA bishop and ecclesiastical leader of the Northern Virginia parishes that left The Episcopal Church over the authority of Scripture and the church's moral innovations.

In a statement from the ADV, Chairman Jim Oakes wrote, "We are saddened that our ADV member parish, Church of Our Saviour, was put in such a difficult position. As we have said all along, this litigation has been a tragic distraction from the good work these churches are trying to undertake as servants of Christ. For many months, we have encouraged our congregations to pray for an end to this costly litigation. There has been a great deal of discussion and soul searching and we will continue to pray that His will be done. No matter the path Church of Our Saviour has chosen, they will remain our brothers and sisters in Christ and we pray for the opportunity to have continued fellowship together."

This is not the first time this strategy has been employed.

Two weeks ago in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, a similar deal was cut with the rump diocese and St. Philip's Church in Moon Township. That agreement required St. Philip's to no longer be affiliated with the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh or any similar group outside the Episcopal Church for a minimum period of five years.

St. Philip's members also agreed to pay off an existing mortgage; repay the diocese the amount of a 2007 distribution from a diocesan endowment fund; and pay the diocese an additional cash amount which the diocese will finance, with interest, for up to 15 years. (The amount is thought to be $1 million dollars). The diocese will continue to hold the deed for the property until these payments have all been made, according to the summary.

The congregation agreed to return all property provided for its use by the Episcopal diocese and to not support any property litigation brought by anyone else against the Episcopal diocese. The parish agreed to pay the diocese $1 million spread over a period of years.

In a written statement, The Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan, Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, blasted the part of the agreement that he says forces St. Philip's to cut ties with his diocese.

"Sadly, the separation mandate seems to be specifically designed to hurt both the local diocese and the North American province. If the settlement is approved by St. Philip's, we urge the court to strike any provisions of the settlement that abridge First Amendment rights," Duncan penned.

The Anglican Diocese already passed a resolution releasing St. Philip's from the diocese, pending the congregation's approval of the settlement. A spokesman for the rump diocese said Duncan's comments do not reflect how the settlement was reached."That statement does not accurately reflect what the negotiations were about."

Any way you cut it, however, the settlements are a clear smack against parishes that wish to align themselves with orthodox dioceses. They do represent a major departure from the winner take all mentality that has been the hallmark of property disputes so far.

Whether a diocese can force a parish not to align itself with another Anglican jurisdiction will need to be tested in the courts. For the moment it is a new twist that, while allowing a parish to keep its property forces it to disaffiliate with brothers and sisters of the Global South with whom they have everything in common when it comes to clear issues of faith and morals.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is on record saying she would sooner see fleeing parishes sold for saloons than see them affiliate with African and Southern Cone dioceses that uphold "the faith once delivered for all to the saints."

Recently the Bishop of New Jersey, George Counsell took the high road and set a new precedent in the Episcopal Church property settlement wars by allowing St. George's Anglican Church, Helmetta, to retain its property and leave the Episcopal Church to join with another Anglican jurisdiction.

Following a down payment of $30,000 with periodic payments to be made over the next several years, the parish will retain all its church buildings and tangible property with complete independence from The Episcopal Church (TEC). The congregation has affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) under Missionary Bishop Martyn Minns and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) under Archbishop Robert Duncan.

Neither evangelical Episcopal bishops John W. Howe (Central Florida) or James Stanton (Dallas) have demanded that fleeing orthodox parishes not align themselves with other Anglican jurisdictions. This new twist by bishop Kenneth Price and Shannon S. Johnston raises the bar in property settlements. While it might bring to an end lengthy legal arguments and with it millions of dollars in legal fees which dioceses do not have, constitutional questions remain as to whether a parish can be denied the right to affiliate with whom it wishes.

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