Chaplain's Corner

By The Rev. Canon Phil Ashey, J.D. Chief Operating and Development Officer, American Anglican Council Canon Ashey Dear Friends in Christ, Today the American Anglican Council joined the Presbyterian Lay Committee in filing an Amicus ("friend of the court") Brief on behalf of Christ Church Savannah in their appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court. We will post a link to the brief on our website in the upcoming days. As an attorney, I realize that some people don't care about the intricacies of these kinds of legal procedures. I ask for your patience with me today because I feel that some details of this important case need to be highlighted. The American Anglican Council helped file this brief because we believe that the unique facts of the Christ Church case make it an especially compelling argument against "legalized larceny" by The Episcopal Church in seizing properties of departing Anglicans. Those unique facts include a land grant from English General James Oglethorpe to the Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church that pre-dated the Revolutionary War, the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia and the formation of the Episcopal Church as a denomination. This grant was affirmed by the newly-formed State of Georgia in December, 1789. As I have written elsewhere, judicial deference to The Episcopal Church's internal rules, specifically the 1979 Dennis Canon, violates the U.S. Constitution's Establishment Clause by recognizing a unilaterally imposed "implied trust" that finds no precedent or practice elsewhere other than by a "hierarchical" church - thereby favoring such a church, especially TEC, over any other person who wants to establish a trust under common law and state principles of trust law. Such deference also changes the neutral principles analysis required by the US Supreme Court in Jones v. Wolf into a de facto "deference to hierarchy" - the very opposite of what the court did in Jones! Among other things, we argue that: - The lower court misinterpreted the purpose and plain reading of the Georgia Trust statute as validating a non-owner's assertion of trust; - The lower court incorrectly used an implied trust to divest Christ Church, the title holder, of its ownership, contrary to Georgia Trust law; - Practical experience and Constitutional guarantees commend that civil courts use "neutral principles" to decide property disputes between religious organizations in order to avoid a state establishment of religion; - The Establishment Clause of the US Constitution requires the use of strictly "neutral principles" that provide no special preference to religious organizations or asserted hierarchies within them; and - By a strictly "neutral principles" analysis of the deeds, articles of incorporation, by-laws and amendments without any deference to a self-declared trust by TEC, the property rightfully remains with the Rector, Wardens and Vestry of Christ Church (Anglican) Savannah. So why all the fuss about this case? Where is the focus on mission? First, let me assure you that the clergy, leadership and people of Christ Church Christ Church Savannah Savannah are doing mission as you read this. You can find all they are doing at their website. Time and space do not permit me to describe their heartfelt attitude of surrender towards the buildings, and their willingness to relocate elsewhere if that is what the courts finally decide. They will continue to fulfill Christ's Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) wherever they land in Savannah. But they also recognize, as we do, that this case has ramifications far beyond the Georgia coastline. Because of the unique facts of this case, the Constitutional issues, the fundamental issues involving the nature and creation of trusts, and the history of church litigation in Georgia ending up in the United States Supreme Court, this case has the potential to impact denominations and churches all across Georgia. Beyond Georgia, this case has the potential to impact every case in litigation between departing Anglicans and TEC all across America. If Christ Church prevails and the US Supreme Court clarifies what a strictly "neutral principles" analysis must be without regard to any self-declared trust by a church or any asserted hierarchies therein, there will be good reason for all parties to sit down at the negotiating table and work out settlements that are fair and just. If TEC prevails, then it will be clear that a strict "neutral principles" analysis has gone by the wayside, that almost no set of facts will withstand the Dennis Canon, and that the best course of action for departing Anglicans is to leave their keys on the altar and joyfully take up mission elsewhere. But either way, there will be an end to litigation, and resources can be redirected toward mission. So please join me in praying for the Rector, Wardens, Vestry, leadership and people of Christ Church Savannah as they prepare to cross this important bridge. And please pray for their legal team as they prepare for oral argument before the Georgia Supreme Court on May 9. Yours in Christ, Phil+