Schismatics win round one in Virgini

Given the state of affairs in Virginia, it will come as no surpirse taht the judge who has continually ruled in favour of the schismatics has once again ruled in their favour.

The final rulings in this case concerned whether four parcels of property owned by the Anglican congregations were covered by the congregations' Division petitions. +Marty Minns, the propaganda creating spokespeople for the schismatic group said

We welcome these final, favorable rulings in this case. This has been a long process and we are grateful that the court has agreed with us. ... It is gratifying to see the court recognize that the true owner of The Historic Falls Church is The Falls Church's congregation, not the denomination, and that the building is protected by the Division Statute. The Falls Church has held and cared for this property for over 200 years.

We hope that The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia will realize that it is time to stop this legal battle. In these economic times, we should be focused on helping our communities and spreading the Gospel, not spending millions of dollars on ongoing legal battles. The money we have been forced to spend to keep our property from being forcibly taken away from us is money that could have been spent in more productive ways.

This should come as no surprise, and I, at least, was expecting this ruling. So now, the appeal comes and the case is removed from the biased "local" courts and into a more balance-viewed venue.

If they had really been concerned about the amount of money they've had to spend, they would have walked away from the buildings and used the money to further their schismatic cause. But they are seeking some type of legitimacy and for them, the buildings create that illusion.

But it's not all good news - the courts made the following ruling that is clearly in favour of the diocese:

The Fairfax County Circuit Court today affirmed that petitions filed by the CANA congregations do not include the endowment fund of The Falls Church (Episcopal) in Falls Church, Va. As a result, the endowment fund was not subject to the congregational vote and the following legal action taken by the CANA congregations seeking to take this property.

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