UPDATED: 4/7/16
The Diocese of San Joaquin announces that court rules for The Episcopal Church:
On Tuesday, 6 April, Bishop David Rice announced that the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and The Episcopal Church received a decision from the Fifth District Court of Appeal affirming the judgment issued by the Fresno Superior Court directing that approximately twenty-eight properties and various Diocesan funds shall be returned to the Diocese of San Joaquin. In an email, he noted that, “The Court of Appeal’s decision does not become final for another thirty days during which the Defendants may seek a re-hearing.”
Bishop David also stated “I am urging the Diocese to remain in a position of prayer for everyone involved as we continue to hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.”
Statement from the Diocese
The ruling from the Court
UPDATE: From the Fresno Bee
In 2014, Judge Donald S. Black ruled in Fresno County Superior Court that the breakaway Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin led by Bishop John-David Schofield had no legal right to the properties that are worth tens of millions of dollars. …
The eight-year legal battle involves complex issues of freedom of religion and property rights. At stake are church properties from Bakersfield to Stockton, including St. James Cathedral at Cedar and Dakota avenues in central-east Fresno and the Episcopal Camp and Conference Center in Oakhurst.
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Hopefully the Supreme Court of South Carolina will take note.
So glad to hear this. It's been a long struggle. As a former communicant in the Diocese of San Joaquin, (St Judes in the Mountains, Tehachapi), I have been watching from Kansas and praying for you.
A church is and should not be considered A building...
A CHURCH IS AND SHOULD BE A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT BELIEVE IN THE LORD....
A well-written, focused opinion. I find it wryly amusing that folks argue about whether a denomination that references its episcopacy in its name is, in fact, hierarchical.
One of the clearest court documents I have read on why and how the Episcopal Church works! I'm sure the Episcopalians who didn't pull out are feeling relief and hoping the Diocese can return to its former self. A long and drawn out legal fight. It's tragic that it even started. I think it's coming that those who do not agree with the General Convention will need to form their own new church.