A South Carolina court has been asked “Who and what are Episcopalians and how is that church organized?” after the Diocese of South Carolina filed a lawsuit yesterday against the national Episcopal Church. The 65-page complaint asks the court to issue an injunction banning Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and her allies in South Carolina from using the name or presuming to act on behalf of the diocese and further asks the court to affirm the legality of the diocese’s secession from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.

Filed on 4 January 2013 in the First Judicial Circuit Court in Dorchester County by the trustees of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and 16 parishes, the complaint asks the civil courts to adjudicate the same general questions currently before the Texas Supreme Court in the Diocese of Fort Worth case. South Carolina has asked the court to… [legally scrutinize] Bishop Jefferts Schori’s claim the Episcopal Church of the United States of America is a hierarchical body with final authority vested in the national church.

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One of the most powerful ways this joy finds expression is in our worship: as we say the words of the Prayer Book’s liturgies, as we celebrate the sacraments, and as we sing beautiful hymns of praise and thanksgiving. Our patron saint understood this very well. As theologian Don Saliers puts it in his book Music and Theology:

Luke can barely make it through two chapters of his gospel without breaking into song four times: the great canticles of Mary, of Zechariah, and of old Simeon commingle with the angels’ spontaneous Gloria in excelsis.

According to St. Luke, when confronted by the overwhelming goodness, love, and grace of God revealed to us in Jesus, we worship. We give thanks. And we sing!

I am looking forward to doing that with you all on January 13, my first official Sunday.

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The Diocese of South Carolina and its incorporated parishes have filed a preemptive lawsuit against the Episcopal Church (USA), an unincorporated religious denomination composed of other member dioceses, whose leadership has been busily engaged in trying to steal away the Diocese’s secular identity.

(What a strange opening paragraph for a church law blogger. In what other field or area of human interest under the sun could such a description apply to what is going on? And the fact that these are all Christians we are talking about in ECUSA’s leadership makes this development even more paradoxical.)

ECUSA has been asking for such a response for over four months now. No sooner had the Presiding Bishop announced last October that she had restricted Bishop Mark Lawrence from functioning in his episcopal office in South Carolina than the Diocese — having anticipated such an attempt against its Bishop — responded that ECUSA’s move had triggered a series of resolutions which automatically declared the Diocese no longer a member of the national Church organization.

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January 4, 2013

Dear Christ-St. Paul’s Parish Family,

Today we joined with the Diocese of South Carolina and the Trustees of the Diocese and some 20 plus other congregations in a lawsuit filed today in a South Carolina Circuit Court seeking a declaratory judgment against The Episcopal Church to protect the Diocese’s real and personal property and that of its parishes, including Christ-St. Paul’s. The parishes participating in the suit, along with the other supporting parishes, represent 74 percent of the members in the Diocese.
The suit asks the court to prevent The Episcopal Church from infringing on the protected marks of the Diocese, including its seal and its historical names, and to prevent The Episcopal Church from assuming the Diocese’s identity, established long before The Episcopal Church’s creation.

Our vestry unanimously voted to join in this action to not only protect our property, but the properties of the Diocese and the other congregations. When the Diocese disassociated from The Episcopal Church it didn’t become a new entity, The Diocese of South Carolina was established in 1785 as an independent, voluntary association that grew from the missionary work of the Church of England. It was incorporated in 1973; and adopted the current legal name, ”˜The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina. While the Diocese has disassociated from The Episcopal Church, it remains a part of the Anglican Communion.

The Episcopal Church has spent more than $22 million on legal action, filing at least 75 lawsuits against the four other dioceses and 200 congregations that have disassociated from the church. The suits have sought to seize the property of local parishes. Today’s suit is pre-emptively filed to protect diocesan and parish property in the wake of our disassociation.

As you know the Episcopal Church has already begun an effort to adopt the Diocese of South Carolina’s identity by calling for a convention to identify new leadership for the Diocese and creating a website and other material using the Diocesan seal.
We joined with our Diocesan family in taking this legal action to protect the legacy of generations of faithful Christ-St. Paul’s members and especially for future generations of worshipers, who want to follow Jesus, place their trust in His Word and remain faithful to His teaching as we received them in our Anglican heritage. Unfortunately to do that, we must do so outside The Episcopal Church.
This Sunday we will have a special Adult Forum following our Big Breakfast, where I, our chancellor, and members of the vestry can address any questions you might have. I ask your continued prayers for Bishop Lawrence, the other clergy and congregations in our Diocese, our vestry, Fr Kendall and me.

Faithfully yours in Christ,

(The Rev.) Craige Borrett is rector, Christ Saint Paul’s, Yonges Island, South Carolina.

The Diocese of South Carolina is made up of 71 parishes with approximately 30,000 members. It says the parishes participating in the suit, along with the other supporting parishes, represent 74 percent of the members in the diocese.

Orangeburg’s Church of the Redeemer is one of the parishes that has signed on to the lawsuit.

“In 1857, the parishioners of the Church of the Redeemer built our first building on Boulevard across from the railroad tracks. In 1891, they put the church on logs and rolled it to its present site on Russell Street,” said the Rev. Dr. Frank E. Larisey, rector of the Church of the Redeemer….

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God of all grace, who didst in the fullness of time send Jesus Christ thy Son to be born of a woman, that he might redeem the sons of men and make them the sons of God: Accept our endless praise for this thy mercy; and grant that the Spirit of thy Son may so dwell in our hearts that we may evermore serve and worship thee with the freedom of thy children; through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

Be strong and of good courage; for you shall cause this people to inherit the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law which Moses my servant commanded you; turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may have good success wherever you go. This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success.

–Joshua 1:6-8

Officials of the Diocese of South Carolina said Friday that they filed a lawsuit against The Episcopal Church, saying it needs to protect its property from the national body.

A statement from the diocese said the lawsuit was filed in South Carolina Circuit Court. It also seeks to prevent The Episcopal Church from infringing on the protected marks of the Diocese, including its seal and its historical names.

“The Episcopal Church has every right to have a presence in the area served by our Diocese – but it does not have a right to use our identity. The Episcopal Church must create a new entity,” the Rev. Jim Lewis said in a statement.

Spokesman Neva Rae Fox said Friday that The Episcopal Church has not received the lawsuit and cannot comment.

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January 4, 2013

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

By now you are aware that today the Diocese of South Carolina, the Trustees of the Diocese and congregations representing the vast majority of its baptized members filed suit in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church to protect the Diocese’s real and personal property and that of its parishes.

We have developed a number of background resources you may find helpful in explaining this situation to your parish. These items include:

A letter from Bishop Lawrence – in the form of a bulletin insert
Stewardship of the Gospel – Stewardship of the Diocese (a theological reflection)
A Media Release
List of Plaintiffs Participating
Glossary of Terms
Timeline of Events
Letters of Support/Articles of Interest

These may all be found here.

If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me.

In Christ’s service,

–(The Rev. Canon) Jim Lewis is Canon to the Ordinary of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina

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