You are here
SAVANNAH, GA: Georgia Supreme Court Will Hear Christ Church Appeal
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
January 14, 2010
The Supreme Court of Georgia has agreed to hear the case of Christ Church, Savannah, in its dispute with the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia over who owns their property.
"We are very pleased and glad to have an opportunity to have our day in court. It is the first bit of good news on the legal front," the Rev. Marc Robertson told VOL by phone today. "My hope is that the Georgia Supreme Court will see this as a substantial case that could affect thousands of congregations across the state."
Asked if he believes that a recent ruling in South Carolina, which positively affected the outcome for the Diocese of South Carolina and its properties, would have any bearing on their case, Robertson stated that the South Carolina decision ruling would be folded into the case here. "We think the Supreme Court of South Carolina got it right and we hope the court in Georgia gets it right."
Robertson, an evangelical, noted that two well-written amicus briefs helped his parish. "We believed they helped our case. We believe this might be the end of the power of the Dennis Canon which has been part of the legal case used by the diocese."
The two amicus briefs (friend of the court briefs) were filed in support of the appeal of Christ Church. These briefs, by The Presbyterian Lay Committee (PLC) and The American Anglican Council (AAC), assert that this ruling will have an impact on all Georgia churches, regardless of denomination, which assume they have local ownership and control of their properties. These briefs can be viewed at www.christchurchsavannah.org.
"The Supreme Court of Georgia has now determined that it will rule on the lawsuit brought against Christ Church in Savannah by the diocese which is trying to seize the historic congregation's downtown property even though Christ Church has always maintained clear title to its property," commented Robertson.
When they lost in the lower courts this past August, Christ Church appealed to the Georgia Supreme Court.
"We are gratified that the Supreme Court will hear our appeal," said David Reeves, governing board chairman of Christ Church. "Since this case will have ramifications for all Georgia churches, regardless of denomination, we think it is appropriate for the highest court in our state to rule on these issues."
Christ Church disaffiliated from The Episcopal Church (TEC) in 2007 by the unanimous decision of its governing board.
Two weeks later, the congregation affirmed that decision by an 87% majority vote. In response, TEC filed suit against the downtown congregation, individual members of its governing body (the vestry), and their pastor.
There is no dispute concerning Christ Church's clear title to its property since it was established in 1733. Rather, TEC asserts that mere affiliation with its larger organizational structure implies its one-way trust interest in all property of local American churches, including Christ Church.
This implication by TEC was supposedly upheld with the passage of the 1979 Dennis Canon, or church law, which was questionably adopted without notification, before or since its declaration. The Christ Church lawsuit is one of some 57 lawsuits TEC is perpetrating against local churches and their governing boards across the country."
"Our battle is against a well funded national church claiming to have a unilateral trust over our property," stated John Albert, governing board vice chairman of Christ Church. "While there have been many adverse lower court rulings, the one State Supreme Court ruling that has addressed this issue was South Carolina which found in favor of the local historic church, in a case very similar to ours."
"Many say that this is only a property lawsuit. But the profound theological issues that divide TEC, Christ Church and all Bible believing Christians are really what this is all about. For our congregation this lawsuit is about defending the historic Christian faith," opined Robertson.
Christ Church is affiliated with the Anglican Church of North America (ACNA) under the Rt. Rev. Neil Lebhar, Bishop of the Gulf Atlantic diocese. He is based in Jacksonville, Florida.
END
