NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. \u201d\u201c January 5, 2009 \u201d\u201c The California Supreme Court today ruled in Episcopal Church Cases that church property disputes must be resolved by \u201cneutral principles of law,\u201d\u009d not by civil courts merely deferring to the decrees of church \u201chierarchies.\u201d\u009d This ruling has wide and favorable impact for churches throughout California that seek to change their denominational affiliation.<\/p>\n
While adopting this \u201cnon-religious\u201d\u009d method of resolving property disputes between churches, the Court seemed to defer to the Episcopal Church\u2019s alleged \u201ctrust canon,\u201d\u009d which purports to create a trust interest in church property owned by local congregations. The Court made its ruling despite the fact that St. James Anglican Church, Newport Beach, purchased and maintained its property with its own funds and has held clear record title to its property for over fifty years.
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In recent years, religious denominations as diverse as the Eastern Orthodox, Baptist and Pentecostal \u201cAssemblies of God\u201d\u009d have attempted to confiscate the property of congregations that wish to change their spiritual affiliation. Today\u2019s ruling falls far short of the endorsement of such tactics that the Episcopal Church \u201d\u201c and other denominational hierarchies that submitted briefs in support of it \u201d\u201c had sought. Many local churches in California will be able to exercise their religious freedom to change their affiliation without having to forfeit their property as a result.<\/p>\n
Nor is the saga over for St. James Anglican Church. \u201cWhile we are surprised that the Court seemed to give some credence to the Episcopal Church\u2019s purported rule confiscating local church property, the battle is far from over,\u201d\u009d lead attorney Eric C. Sohlgren said. \u201cThe matter will now return to the Orange County Superior Court for further proceedings, and we look forward to presenting evidence and additional legal arguments that St. James Church should prevail under neutral principles of law.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
The leadership of the Newport Beach congregation is also evaluating a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court and is meeting to discuss other possible steps. Today\u2019s ruling also affects All Saints Church in Long Beach and St. David\u2019s Church in North Hollywood, whose cases were put on hold pending the outcome of the St. James case. Together with St. James Church, these congregations never agreed to relinquish their property to the Episcopal Church upon changing their affiliation, and have consistently maintained that they have the right to use and possess the property which they have owned and maintained for decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. \u201d\u201c January 5, 2009 \u201d\u201c The California Supreme Court today ruled in Episcopal Church Cases that church property disputes must be resolved by \u201cneutral principles of law,\u201d\u009d not by civil courts merely deferring to the decrees of…<\/span><\/p>\n