PRESS RELEASE
 
June 10, 2010
 
Today, the Supreme Court of Virginia ruled that the 57-9 "Division Statute" was incorrectly applied by the Fairfax County Circuit Court. Several congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia sought to use this statute to take Episcopal property when they left the denomination.
 
The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia appealed a lower court ruling with the support of a diverse group of amici curiae, or "friends of the court," associated with religious organizations that together represent more than 25 million Christians across the United States. These include The United Methodist Church (including its Virginia Annual Conference); the Presbyterian Church (USA) (including the National Capital Presbytery and the Presbytery of Eastern Virginia); the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (including the Virginia and Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Synods); the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, the General Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventists, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Virlina District Board-Church of the Brethren, Inc.  
 
"Some of the organizations in our group have rules of governance that are similar to those used in the Episcopal Church.  Others could not be more different," said Tom Starnes, an attorney from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, who represented the amici. "All stood with the Episcopal Church and the Diocese on this appeal, however, because we firmly believe that the so-called 'Division Statute' unconstitutionally forces civil courts to interfere in religious matters that churches must be allowed to decide for themselves, free from state interference." 
 
He added, "Although the Supreme Court did not find it necessary to reach that conclusion, they did the next best thing. The Supreme Court declined to allow the statute to be invoked in the current context, in which some church members have simply opted to leave one denomination and join another."