A. S. Haley—a 2013 Annual Litigation Summary for the Episcopal Church (USA)

Posted by Kendall Harmon

It is a fact well known to certain Episcopalians—both those who have left the Episcopal Church (USA) and those who have remained—that ECUSA and its dioceses have followed a pattern of suing any church that chooses to leave for another Anglican jurisdiction. But the full extent of the litigation that has ensued is not well known at all, either in the wider Church, or among the provinces of the Anglican Communion.

Your Curmudgeon proposes to do what he can to rectify this situation, by publishing an annual update on this site of the current status of all past and present cases in which ECUSA or any of its dioceses has been or is involved, from 2000 to date. Feel free to link to this post, to email links to it to other Episcopalians, and to send it to your Bishop -- and feel free to post any updates or corrections in the comments.

The lawsuits initiated by ECUSA and its dioceses to date are first listed below, followed by a list of the six cases begun by a diocese or parish against the Episcopal Church. The listing endeavors to be as complete as I can make it. The first 78 cases, grouped by the State in which they each originated, are the legal actions filed since 2000 (of which I am aware) where the Episcopal Church (USA) and/or one of its dioceses played the role of plaintiff....

Read it all.

Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • Episcopal Church (TEC) • TEC Conflicts • * Christian Life / Church Life • Parish Ministry • Stewardship • * Culture-Watch • Law & Legal Issues • * Theology • Ethics / Moral Theology

3 Comments
Posted January 9, 2013 at 6:15 am [Printer Friendly] [Print w/ comments]



1. New Reformation Advocate wrote:

Marvelously succinct and lucid.  A damning indictment of the catastrophic policies followed by the PB and her incompetent staff, including the loathsome Chancellor.  What a bunch of worthless crooks!

Well done, Counselor Haley.  This is a very useful list.  I’d forgotten some of these cases, but the cumulative impact of such a comprehensive list is powerful indeed.  All these egregious attempts by TEC’s leaddership at bullying orthodox congregations into submission to an ungodly agenda through the threat of financial ruin will someday be widely seen for what they are: a grossly unChristian strategy for enforcing compliance with a completely unbiblical, unAnglican, and unChristian social agenda.

We can only hope that Allan Haley follows this summary up with a sequel that attempts to add up the millions of dollars wasted on these reprehensible lawsuits.  In the past, the Curmudgeon has shown that at least $20 million had been spent by TEC up to that point.  I’m sure it’s even higher now.

It’s enough to make anyone who loves the Anglican tradition agonize along with the writer of Psalm 13, “How long, O LORD?”  Or like the martyrs mentioned in Rev. 7 who plead for the Lord to take action to avenge them, we might well wonder:  How long, O God, until you act and put an end to such persecution?

David Allan Handy+
(I have a fondness for anyone with the name Allan)

January 9, 10:37 am | [comment link]
2. MotherViolet wrote:

Church of the Word in Virginia, came out with their property. This was incorrectly reported in the article.

January 9, 2:56 pm | [comment link]
3. Cennydd13 wrote:

“Worthless crooks?”  That’s an understatement if I ever heard one!

January 9, 10:15 pm | [comment link]
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