The church\u2019s Petition requests review on a number of legal and constitutional grounds. At the broadest level, the Petition shows that the trial judge failed to follow the Virginia Supreme Court\u2019s 2010 directive to resolve this church property dispute by \u201capplication of neutral principles of law\u201d\u009d\u201d\u201d principles \u201cdeveloped for use in all property disputes\u201d\u009d \u201d\u201c and instead justified transferring the church\u2019s property based primarily on the denomination\u2019s internal canons. The trial court\u2019s ruling thus violates the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions by giving a denomination unilateral powers to override civil laws, powers not granted to any other entity, whether religious or secular, in Virginia.<\/p>\n
As the Petition explains, the trial court\u2019s ruling also violates the Constitution by allowing the denomination\u2019s and diocese\u2019s canons to apply retroactively and to govern historic property that The Falls Church acquired before it joined the denomination\u201d\u201dindeed, before the denomination or diocese even existed. The history of The Falls Church and its deeds makes its claims especially strong compared with other cases that have come before the courts. The Petition also seeks review of the trial court\u2019s failure to recognize the important distinctions between the church\u2019s consecrated property (property used for actual worship services, primarily the Historic Church and Main Sanctuary) and its unconsecrated property (all other property). Even under the trial court\u2019s legal analysis, such unconsecrated property is exempt from the scope of the denomination\u2019s and diocese\u2019s canons and should not be subject to transfer.<\/p>\n