"Both sides have been working toward a settlement for almost a year now," said Bishop Robert Duncan. "It is a blessing to see that work bear fruit."

Duncan called the lawsuit "expensive and distracting" for those involved, and called on a both sides to "put it behind us."

"With the issues at hand settled, I pray a level of trust has also been regained," Duncan said.

The dispute arose in the weeks following the election of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire. Robinson is living in a same-sex relationship.

Conservative church officials such as Duncan criticized the church's elevation of Robinson to bishop and its decision to give tacit approval of blessing services for same-sex unions, saying it was an improper departure from traditional church teachings.

While falling short of saying conservatives would seek to formally split from the national church -- Duncan contends that the church's U.S. branch has split from orthodox Anglicanism -- the bishop took a lead role in organizing the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, which seeks to represent church members who oppose the denomination's increasingly liberal direction.

The Episcopal Church USA, which has 2.3-million members, is the U.S. branch of the 77-million member Worldwide Anglican Communion. There are about 20,000 Episcopalians in 72 parishes in the Pittsburgh diocese.

Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh, which has supported the national church's liberal stance on human sexuality issues, considers the settlement a vindication of the parish's decision to seek legal protection for church property.

"Plaintiffs seem to have accomplished all their objectives," said the group's president, Lionel Deimel. "This settlement cannot but discourage dissident bishops who think they can alienate Episcopal Church property without consequences."

The Rev. Harold T. Lewis, rector of Calvary, believes the settlement will have "a great impact upon Episcopalians across the country."

END