As apostasy grows in the leadership of mainline denominations, local congregations of Bible-believing Christians withdrawing en masse from the denomination find themselves in court as the denomination seizes the property.
UPDATE 10/3/11: Connecticut Supremes take church property from parishioners, gives to apostate ECUSA
UPDATE 2/21/11: Anglican Parish in Virginia Votes to Settle Land Dispute
-- From "Could battling Anglicans wind up in the same buildings?" by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post 6/10/10
The three-year-old legal dispute over nine Virginia churches [includes] the credentials of Anglican conservative priests being yanked by the Episcopal Church and conservatives threatening Episcopal leaders with trespass if found on the disputed properties. All this happened after the congregations, mostly in Northern Virginia, voted in 2006-2007 to break away from the Episcopal Church, which conservative congregants believe has strayed dangerously from Christianity.
Since the votes (which launched the legal cases), the small groups of people in some of the churches who wanted to remain Episcopalians have met in other churches and in coffee shops, waiting for the case to be resolved. Today the Virginia Supreme Court ruled against the conservatives, but the case will likely go on for months or years more.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Calif. high court to hear church's property appeal" by The Associated Press 6/9/10
The California Supreme Court has decided to hear an Orange County church's appeal to keep its beachfront church property, despite breaking away from the main Episcopal Church.
St. James Anglican Church, a theologically conservative breakaway church, has waged a nearly six-year fight to keep the church property instead of returning it to the Diocese of Los Angeles.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Click headlines below for previous articles on this subject:
Episcopal Diocese Boots Christian Congregation in Favor of Muslims
As Homosexualists Enter, the Sacred Leave Episcopal Church
ECUSA Loses Church Property to Exiting Christians
