A Fairfax circuit judge has awarded a favorable judgment to a group of 11 Anglican churches that were taken to court last fall after breaking away from the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia in late 2006.<\/p>\n
In an 83-page opinion released late last night, Judge Randy Bellows ruled that Virginia”s Civil War-era \u201cdivision statute\u201d\u009d granting property to departing congregations applies to the Northern Virginia congregations, which are now part of the Nigerian-administered Convocation of Anglicans in North America.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe court finds that a division has occurred in the diocese,\u201d\u009d the judge wrote. \u201cOver 7 percent of the churches in the diocese, 11 percent of its baptized membership and 18 percent of the diocesan average attendance of 32,000 [per Sunday] have left in the past two years.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n