The real question is how Salmon and the Diocese can justify paying for another appeal when two circuit court judges and the attorney general are on record upholding the trust.

"How many churches in the diocese would approve of spending more money to beat this dead horse? Where is the money going to come from?"

Salmon is unwell, VirtueOnline was told, and is supposed to retire in six weeks, and at that time the Standing Committee will have the authority to settle it or drop the appeal.

END

PAWLEYS ISLAND, SC: All Saints' Dispute Settled by Judge

THE COASTAL OBSERVER
3/16/2006

Circuit Court Judge Tommy Cooper said he recognized the dispute over All Saints' Church property arose over theological differences.

"But, the court cannot decide theological or ecclesiastical differences. They will exist long after this court ruling. My ruling must be based on law as my finite mind understands it," he said. "There is a complex intertwining of civil and ecclesiastical law and factual disputes. I will follow civil procedure and rule only on evidence and law."

Cooper then read his ruling that John and Jane Doe, through a 1745 trust, own the property and the proper vestry is the Episcopal vestry. The probate court will decide who will replace the original trustees and who will be the beneficaries. The ruling Monday is unlikely to be the final word in the suit over the church property, something even Cooper acknowledged.

"The 1745 trust is viable," Cooper said. "John Doe is the owner of the property for the use and benefit of the beneficaries of the trust as the probate court decides." The Does are an unidentified third party created to represent the interests of the 1745 trust. Fred Newby is their legal representative.

Cooper said the trust has never been repudiated.

The Pawley family gave the church property to "the inhabitants of the Waccamaw Neck for the use of a church or chapel for the divine worship of the Church of England, established by law."

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Bishop of South Carolina, testified that the Episcopal Church in the U.S. is the heir to the Church of England.

"The Church of England established in America does not affect the trust," Cooper said.

Also, a 1903 quit claim deed the diocese said proved the parish was the rightful owner and the diocese its overseer was not relevant.

"There was no deed into the diocese in the first place," Cooper said.

He said the property has been used for 261 years in accordance to the trust, whether there was knowledge of its existence or not. The trust was not found until 1986, and no public mention of it was made until the lawsuits started in 2000.

He cited a 1973 case involving the First Presbyterian Church of Rock Hill as the basis for his decision on the vestry.

He said the majority of members withdrew from the Presbyterian Church and united with another denomination but still wanted the church property.

He said the court ruled the remaining minority members owned the property and that the majority had no right to the property because they severed their relationship with the First Presbyterian Church.

"When a division occurs in a church," Cooper said. "The congregation is answered by who is the representative of the church before it split."

In the All Saints' case, the majority also voted to leave but have remained on the property.

Cooper ruled the minority, the church members who did not vote to leave the Episcopal Church and the diocese of South Carolina, are the proper vestry.

Both sides laid claim to the 60-acre church property located on King River Road, and both claimed their vestry is the proper one to run the church.

All Saints' brought suit in 2000 after the diocese filed a notice in the courthouse that it and the national church held ownership of the property. A Circuit Court judge issued a summary judgment in 2001 that gave the church ownership, but it was overturned by the state Court of Appeals, which ordered the issue to trial. The state Supreme Court refused to hear the church's appeal of that ruling.

In 2004, the majority of All Saints' members voted to leave the Episcopal Church and become part of the Anglican Mission in America. The diocese appointed a new vestry among the members who wanted to remain in the national church.

In 2005, the diocese brought suit claiming the Episcopal vestry was the "proper vestry of the church." The 2000 and 2005 lawsuits cases were consolidated.

The Anglican Mission members claim its ownership of the property predates the creation of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. The trust is valid and they have been carrying out its purposes. Also, they stated that they followed the church constitution and bylaws when they amended the All Saints' charter, taking out reference to the Episcopal Church, before voting to leave.

However, by voting to leave the Episcopal Church, the diocese claimed that the Anglican Mission members had no right to the property or its management. Cooper agreed.

END