Eventually the courts ruled that St. James was legally the property of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and the multimillion dollar church property was turned over to Bishop Bruno as a corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. He assigned Canon Evans Voorhees to the re-established church and to rebuild the congregation. She took her assignment to heart and went about developing a strong Episcopal presence in Newport Beach.

Originally Bishop Bruno supported Canon' Voorhees efforts. He rededicated St. James the Great as an Episcopal congregation and affirmed the growing Newport Beach church will "continue in ministry within the Episcopal Church."
However in mid May 2014 he changed the status of St. James from a corporation of the diocese to a sole corporation in his name as bishop and the action was endorsed by the diocesan standing committee. Bishop Bruno had one goal in mind -- to sell St. James.

"As your Bishop, I remain focused on these areas while also strengthening sustainable ministries within our diocesan community," Bishop Bruno wrote. "This work involves balancing pastoral care with making responsible fiduciary decisions not only for today but also for the future of the Diocese. This remains the goal of my decision to sell, with the concurrence of the diocesan Standing Committee, Newport Beach property owned by Corporation Sole."

A year after he transferred St. James from a corporation of the diocese to a sole corporation he announced he had "sold" St. James to Legacy Residential Partners for $15 million. The developer is anxious to turn St. James into 22 high end town home condominiums. However there is a fly in the ointment to Bishop Bruno seeing his plans fulfilled -- a pesky religious use clause.

In 1945 when the Griffith Company, the originally developer of the Lido Isle area of Newport Beach deeded four on lots to Bishop William Bertrand Stevens (II Los Angeles) with the express propose of building and maintaining a church in perpetuity.

"The property conveyed shall be used (for) church purposes exclusively and no building other than a church and appurtenances may be erected, placed or maintained thereon," the original Griffith Company deed declares. "The foregoing restriction shall be binding upon the grantee [Bishop Stevens], his successors [Bishop Bruno] and assigns."

Once the Griffith Company got wind that Bishop Bruno was selling St. James with the intention of converting the property into residential condominiums the Griffith legal department was quick to notify the Los Angeles bishop that he did not have clear title to the land to do with as he wants and selling the land was definitely verboten.

"Griffith Company never released, and never intended to release, the covenant, condition, restriction for 'church purposes exclusively; for the central church building lost, or the adjoining lost from their ancillary role to serve 'church purposes' solely," the Griffith Company attorney explained to Bishop Bruno.

While Bishop Bruno started battling the Griffith Company on the one hand he found that Canon Voorhees was not opposed to bringing him up on presentment charges, specifically147 charges. The bishop now had both his hands full.

Last July Bishop Bruno kicked Canon Voorhees and her congregation out to the curb. He changed the locks and announced on the diocesan website that "The last Sunday service in St. James' Church occurred, as scheduled by the vicar, on June 28, 2015." He also suggests that if anyone is interested in attending an Episcopal church he suggested St. Michael & All Angels in Corona del Mar; St. John the Divine in Costa Mesa; St. Wilfrid of York in Huntington Beach; or St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Laguna Beach.

No mention was made that Canon Voorhees is continuing Episcopal services, albeit out-of-doors. The sky becomes her ceiling and lawn chairs serve as pews as her dedicated flock continues to meet in the open air across street from St. James in Lido Park. They have created an outdoor sanctuary as their weekly Mass-on-the-Grass continued.

As the New Year dawn St. James the Great still finds itself battling its own bishop as the congregation continues to remain faithful under very trying circumstances.

On Jan. 10 the congregation communicated with Title IV Intake Officer Bishop Clayton Matthews and House of Bishops Disciplinary Board President Bishop Catherine Waynick about the continuing delay in resolving the issues with Bishop Bruno. The letter was carbon copied to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry, Presding Bishop Emeritus Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Episcopal Church counsel David Beers and Mary Kostel.

In the six-page letter St. James notes the apparent time delay negatively impacts The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles and St. James.

The letter also lays out the argument that Bishop Bruno is desirous of selling St. James so that he can use the "very large" profit from the sale as funds to speculate in an Orange County commercial real estate venture dubbed "Platinum Triangle," an 820-acre plot which is wedged between the Santa Ana River and Interstate 5 which to be used for apartments, condos and as well as retail and office space. It is anchored by Angel Stadium sports arena.

"In the June 10, 2015 meeting with the St. James Evaluation/Transition Team, when responding to the question why he needed to sell the St. James the Great building, Bishop Bruno said it was for important Diocesan reasons and that the matter rested entirely within his discretionary authority," the letter explains.

The letter also outlines Bishop Bruno's "well-known and oft -expressed dislike of the Episcopalians of Newport Beach," which has resulted in the Los Angeles bishop's being less than truthful and honest when describing the congregation by misrepresenting the church's viability and the supposed resignation of Canon Voorhees as vicar.

"This also seems to explain his conflicting position of authorizing the congregation to continue while doing, and causing the Diocese to do, everything in his and its power to prevent the continuation of the congregation and promote its dissolution and the scattering of its members," the letter states. "It is, we would again note, the only instance in modern memory of an Episcopal Bishop locking out a faithful and viable congregation from a usable church property and allowing that property to remain vacant, unused and beginning to experience neglect and decay."

Through researching public records St. James members have identified more than 60 properties which are owned by Bishop Bruno as the corporation sole including 18 Episcopal missions, 15 Episcopal parishes and 26 residences. In addition he apparently owns St. Francis Anglican Friary and Project New Hope low income housing in Los Angeles; the Faith in Action ministry in Barstow; and the Korean Methodist Church in Buena Park, and apparently he also owns as Corporation Sole owns three commercially zoned properties with the planned "Platinum Triangle," with a 50% ownership by Katella Howell LLC , a Delaware corporation with the bishop listed as the sole officer.

"These properties have current values well in excess of the expected sale proceeds of the St. James the Great building," the letter explains. "The Bishop could have sold some of these in order to further the commercial real estate profits of his Corp Sole but for his own reasons decided not to do so."

The letter also explains that after Bishop Bruno had seized St. James bank account in June and that he has spent it down so that as of December 30, 2015 the account was overdrawn explaining that: "The account has not been used in any way by or for the benefit of the congregation since June 2015 and should be restored in full."

In conclusion the letter emphatically states: "To be clear we have no objection to the Bishop using Corp Sole to engage in prudent, profitable real estate transactions. We do object to the Bishop selling the St. James property, which is subject to a church use restriction, and was being used by a church congregation, rather than one of the many other Corp Sole properties he could have sold."

Bishop Waynick quickly responded to St. James letter.

"Please be assured that the Disciplinary Board has no desire to prolong these processes, and that it is always our intention to move forward without undue delay," she wrote on Jan. 13. "I will, according to new canons adopted at General Convention 2015, be monitoring the process on a monthly basis to ensure that it is moving forward."

The bishop also assured St. James that she is taking her responsibility seriously.

"I want also to remind you that the scope of our responsibility is to determine whether or not there has been a violation of the canons, not to decide the relative merits of a disputed action," Bishop Waynick explained. "...our goal is always to meet the goals of Title IV and to help effect reconciliation among the parties involved."

St. James also has posted a detailed timeline outlining the various events in the current legal conflict between Bishop Bruno and the church.

Historical background

1941: The first Sunday service is held at St. James Mission Church.

1945: The Griffith Company, acting through its President, Stephen M. Griffith, deeds the land that is home to St. James Church to the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles with the use conveyance that the land remain in perpetuity "for church purposes exclusively" and a reversion of the property (back to the Griffith Company) if it is not used as a church.

1984: Quitclaim from the Griffith Company releases the reversion interest on three of the four parcels. This allows the Vestry of St. James to obtain the financing necessary to fund the expansion of the church.
While the reversion interest is released on three of the four parcels, the use conveyance "for church purposes exclusively" is not released and remains in force today. [Read 1984 quitclaim deed online]

2002: Consecration of the new sanctuary that was designed by famed architect George Bissell to accommodate the expanding congregation.

2004: A breakaway group of Anglicans take St. James Church away from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Bishop Bruno files a lawsuit seeking return of the St. James church property to the Episcopal Church. He also files similar lawsuits regarding three other breakaway congregations All Saints, Long Beach; St. David's, North Hollywood; and St. Luke's, La Crescenta.

2009: Diocesan Standing Committee votes to move four congregations involved in the lawsuit to 'mission' status and transfers All Saints, Long Beach, and St. David's, North Hollywood, to Corporation Sole for potential sale after the conclusion of the lawsuits. St. James and St. Luke's, La Crescenta, remain in the Corporation of the Diocese as no sale is planned.

Recent history

2013: Following a contentious nine-year lawsuit, St. James Church is awarded by decree back to the Corporation of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles to be held in trust. Interestingly, part of the court decision suggests that no church property in California can be sold without general convention approval.

9/2013: The Rev. Canon Cindy Evans Voorhees is assigned to the re-established mission church of St. James the Great and is charged with rebuilding the congregation.

10/6/13: Bishop Jon Bruno presides at the first Eucharist and the rededication of St. James the Great Church and asks all "To support efforts to rebuild the church and to make it a signpost telegraphing the message: 'Here
we are, Lord.'"

5/4/14: In his pastoral address, Bishop Bruno confirms to all of the congregations of the Diocese of Los Angeles that St. James the Great will "continue in ministry within the Episcopal Church."

5/20/14: Bishop Bruno, without disclosing full facts, and without approval of the Standing Committee, obtains approval from the Corporation of the Diocese to transfer the St. James properties to Corporation Sole.

Early 2015: Bishop Bruno, without consulting the Vicar or the Congregation or the Standing Committee, signs an agreement to sell the St. James church property to Legacy Residential Partners, a developer.

5/17/15: Immediately following Sunday service, Bishop Bruno announces to the congregation he has signed an agreement by which he 'sold' St. James the Great to a developer who intends to build luxury townhomes
on the site.

5/18/15: Appointment of St. James the Great Evaluation Team.

5/22/15: Evaluation Team researching the situation.

5/25/15: The Evaluation Team sends an introductory letter to Bishop Bruno to discuss the options for St. James the Great to continue forward.

6/5/15: Bishop Bruno sends a letter to Mayor Pro-Tem Diane Dixon and states his reasons as to why St. James the Great is being sold to build luxury townhomes.

6/8/15: Bishop Bruno is advised that the original 1945 grant deed contains restrictions that require the property to remain "for church purposes exclusively." Later that same day, Bishop Bruno responds saying a quitclaim produced in 1984 released the reversion interest on the property.

6/9/15: Bishop Bruno meets with the St. James the Great Evaluation Team for the first -- and only -- time. The Bishop makes commitments to St. James the Great and confirms these promises in writing.

6/17/15: Thereafter, Bishop Bruno and the Diocese become non-responsive to the Evaluation Team.

6/10/15: Griffith Company informs Bishop Bruno that a sale of the donated property for nonchurch use will violate the deed's restriction and use conveyance "for church purposes exclusively."

6/10/15: Bishop Bruno says that Canon Voorhees can remain St. James vicar.

6/11/15: President of the Diocese of Los Angeles Standing Committee issues statement regarding St. James the Great stating.

6/15/15: City of Newport Beach Town Hall Meeting with Mayor Pro-Tem Diane Dixon to share information and gather community feedback about the fate of St. James the Great.

6/23/15: Save St. James the Great files court action against Bishop, seeking to stop the sale of the church property; Save attempts and fails to obtain a temporary restraining order against the sale.

6/23/15: At the Newport Beach City Council Meeting council members support the continued church use at the location of St. James the Great. Some go on to criticize Bishop Bruno as "despicable" and his actions as "deplorable."

6/24/15: Due to issues created from restrictions and conveyances in the original grant deed, the title for the sale of the property of St. James the Great fails to close.

6/26/15: Bishop Bruno and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles file a lawsuit against the land donor, the Griffith Company, for "quiet title, declaratory relief, and title slander."

6/29/15: Though the sale transaction is not completed, without warning Bishop Bruno changes the locks at St. James the Great which immediately puts Canon Voorhees, congregation, and staff out on the street and eliminates access to the sanctuary and seizes all business and financial resources.

7/5/15: While the sanctuary of St. James the Great sits unsold and locked, the congregation (225+) meets for Sunday worship in the park across the street.

7/6/15: Concerned clergy and members of the St. James the Great congregation file a formal complaint against Bishop Bruno with Bishop Clay Matthews, Intake Officer of the Episcopal Church. The Complaint alleges that Bishop Bruno, in his dealings with the St. James the Great property and congregation, has violated various canons of the Episcopal Church, including those that prohibit the sale of consecrated property without appropriate approval, those that prohibit "dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation," and those that prohibit "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy."

Summer & Fall 2015: Bishop Bruno and his legal team aggressively pursue their lawsuit against the land donor and issue subpoenas and actively depose two 80+ years old former executive team members and current executive team members on 7/9. As of 10/10/15, Bishop Bruno's legal team has subpoenaed 16 people including the local Brownie Troop leader, the church chef, and a woman whose mother's ashes are interred at the church, and numerous members of the Association to Save St. James the Great.

7/10/15: Clergy and congregants file a supplemental brief to the Canon Law Complaint document with Bishop Matthews of The Episcopal Church asking for immediate pastoral relief and the appointment of an alternate Bishop to provide pastoral support and care for the congregation.

7/10/15: Bishop Bruno leaves on an extended four-week vacation to Rome, Italy, while the congregation of St. James the Great remains locked out even though the building sits unsold, vacant, and unused.

7/13/15: Clergy and congregants of St. James the Great files a second supplement to the Canon Law Complaint and addresses the possible violation of Canon11.6.3 and the transfer of a consecrated church for ungodly use

7/15/15: The office of Bishop Matthews of The Episcopal Church notifies Bishop Bruno of the their intention to investigate and pursue the canonical complaints filed against him.

7/23/15: Intake Offer's Report issued from The Episcopal Church regarding
the investigation of the Canon Law Complaint of Bishop Bruno

7/31/15: Concerned clergy and congregants file a further letter with The Episcopal Church, detailing further violations by Bishop Bruno of the national church canons.

8/4/15: Further supplement is added to the canon law complaint

8/10/15: Reference Panel of The Episcopal Church decides that there should
be an attempt at Conciliation between Bishop Bruno and those who filed the canon law complaint against him.

8/10/15: Reference Panel of The Episcopal Church appoints an advisor, the Rev. Kathleen M. Kelly, to assist the complainants against Bishop Bruno.

8/14/15: Evaluation Team issues update on the Canon Law Complaint.

8/27/15: Griffith Company files motion to dismiss the Bishop's title slander claims, arguing that they are a "Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation" or
SLAPP.

8/31/15: The Conciliation process required by the National Church begins.

9/8/15: Save St. James the Great files an amended complaint, detailing the injuries caused by the Bishop's decision to lock the congregation and the community out of the St. James building and grounds.

9/18/15: Bishop files a demurrer to the amended complaint, arguing that Save St. James the Great has no standing to sue to enforce the church use restriction.

9/22/15: After weeks of interviews and intensive meetings, the Conciliator concludes that no accord is possible.

10/17/15: The Gray Matter Museum of Art in Costa Mesa opens its doors to St. James the Great offering temporary indoor worship space while the Diocese of Los Angeles lock out continues.

10/29/15: The Reference Panel of the Episcopal Church decides that the case
against Bishop Bruno should be heard by a Conference Panel.

10/29/15: Save St. James the Great files opposition to the Bishop's demurrer, arguing that save, through its members in the congregation and the community, DOES have standing to sue the Bishop to enforce the church use restriction.

10/30/15: The Evaluation Team reports to the congregation the progress and next steps on the Canon Law Complaint.

11/3/15: Judge Walter Schwarm, newly assigned to the Griffith Company case, recluses himself from the case because he is Episcopalian, and declines to rule on the pending Griffith anti-SLAPP motion.

12/2/15: Save St. James the Great issues an Open Letter to the Diocese as a preconvention update from the congregation that includes an easy to navigate listing of properties owned by Corp Sole of the Los Angeles Diocese.

12/15/15: Evaluation Team files additional charges against Bishop Bruno resulting from the Dec. 4-5 Diocesan Convention.

12/24/15: St. James the Great celebrates Christmas Eve outdoors under the stars in Lido Park as the congregation is still locked out of the church by Bishop Bruno.

12/31/2015: Canon Cindy Voorhees is listed as #4 by the Los Angeles Times-Daily Pilot's year end list of most influential persons in the Newport Beach-Costa Mesa region for her strength and leadership at St. James by successfully keeping her flock together despite the congregation being locked out of their church at 3209 Via Lido by Bishop Bruno.

1/10/2016: St. James the Great files eight additional canonical violations against Bishop Bruno as he continues to act against the congregation in a manner unbecoming a Bishop.

1/13/2016: A Conference Panel is named to hear case against Bishop. Bishop Catherine Waynick, president of the House of Bishops Disciplinary Board sends written notification to the Evaluation Team at St. James the Great that the Conference Panel for the Canon Law Complaint against Bishop Bruno has been set and named. The location for the investigation has not yet been confirmed.

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline