From the Rev. Steve Wood's blog: "Treading Grain". Steve is rector of St Andrew's Church (ACNA) in Mt. Pleasant SC. TEC Bishop of SC Mark Lawrence and its Standing Committee did not contest the ruling of the SC Supreme Court in the All Saints' Pawleys Island case enabling St Andrew's, the largest parish in the diocese to leave the TEC Diocese of SC with their property free and clear.Posted by Greg ShorePublished in TEC/General Convention
The Episcopal Forum of South Carolina (EFSC) reported today that the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church (TEC) has announced that resolutions passed by the Diocese of South Carolina Convention meeting in February, 2011 have been deemed null and void. You can read the correspondence between TEC and legal counsel for EFSC on EFSC’s website.
The Diocese of South Carolina explains their resolution: “The Diocese of South Carolina, as a founding Diocese of the Episcopal Church, has freely exercised its sovereignty in acceding to the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. The changes in the Title IV section of the Canons of The Episcopal Church contradict the Constitution of The Episcopal Church and represent both an unacceptable change in our polity and an indefensible infringement upon the due process rights of all the clergy of this Diocese. Protection of the sovereignty of the Diocese, consistent with the Constitution of The Episcopal Church and the right to due process for its clergy, requires that accession to the Canons of The Episcopal Church be removed. This change preserves our ability to continue under the Constitution of the Episcopal Church.”
You can read all of the Episcopal Forum’s article.
UPDATE: The Anglican Curmudgeon offers his analysis here.
Related Articles
· “So, What Will South Carolina Do?” (May 19th, 2011)
· Declaration of Removal (October 27th, 2010)
· +Mark Lawrence Responds to Episcopal Forum (September 24th, 2010)
· Proposed Resolutions for the DSC Reconvened Convention (September 15th, 2010)
· Virginia Supreme Court Ruling Released (updated) (June 10th, 2010)
While I am exceptionally grateful for the leadership of +Mark Lawrence, he did not "let" us take our property. The unanimous ruling of the SC Supreme Court determined that neither the Diocese of SC nor the national church had an interest in our property - or any other parish properties in SC.
ReplyDeleteI'll correct the lead in Thanks
ReplyDeleteAh, but TEC is bound by neither the laws of God or Man. Only the iron will of +KJS.
ReplyDelete