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QUINCY: St. John's Anglican Parish one step closer to keeping properties, assets
By Steve Eighinger
Herald-Whig
http://www.whig.com/article/20160516/ARTICLE/305169662#
May. 16, 2016
St. John's Anglican Parish of Quincy has cleared another hurdle in what has now been an eight-year legal showdown with the U.S. Episcopal Church involving millions in properties and assets.
The Illinois 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield has ruled in favor of the Diocese of Quincy -- which is headquartered in Peoria and of which St. John's Anglican Parish is a part -- over ownership of properties and funds after a 2008 vote by the diocese to leave the U.S. Episcopal Church but remain in the Anglican Communion.
"This is a major decision," said Quincy attorney Tad Brenner, who has served as legal counsel for the Diocese of Quincy,
What initially triggered the legal confrontation was when the Diocese of Quincy joined about 8,000 U.S. congregations in deciding to leave the U.S. Episcopal Church, largely because of its liberal stand on homosexuality. Leadership in the Diocese of Quincy has traditionally stood on the conservative side of social issues.
The recent court rulings tied to the Diocese of Quincy have no connection with theology or ethics. They are dealing with brick-and-mortar issues and which entity is entitled to property and other assets.
St. John's dates to 1837 and has been at 701 Hampshire since the early 1850s.
The Diocese of Quincy is considered a constituent member of the Anglican Church in North America.
The most recent court ruling can be appealed to the Illinois Supreme Court, but that must be done by mid-June.
There are also U.S. Episcopal Church cases against 23 individual churches in the diocese that are pending, including St. John's Anglican Parish in Quincy. Brenner also represents 21 of the 23 individual churches in question, including St. John's.
"The Illinois Supreme Court normally only accepts about 4 percent of appeals," Brenner said.
The next news tied to the case will probably come in mid-June after a verdict from the Illinois Supreme Court.
"Assuming the Illinois Supreme Court does not take the case, the (individual church cases) would then proceed," Brenner said.
The case involving the Diocese of Quincy is one of four such cases that have gone to court in recent years. Others have been in South Carolina, Texas and California. Those four cases involve a combined $650 million in property and assets. The Diocese of Quincy is the smallest of the four, totaling about $4.5 million. The South Carolina case involves about $500 million.
The Anglican Church in North America was founded in 2003 by Anglicans who left the Anglican Church of Canada and the U.S. Episcopal Church over concerns that the teaching of those churches had grown too liberal.
The Anglican Church in North America is headquartered in Ambridge, Pa. The church reports that it has 28 dioceses and 983 congregations serving about 112,000 members in North America.
The U.S. Episcopal Church describes itself as "Protestant, yet Catholic" and is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The most current church statistics show that the U.S. Episcopal Church has 1.8 million members, making it the nation's 14th-largest denomination. The church dates to 1789.
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