Politics & Government

Truro: Giving Up Donations Violates Religious Freedom Laws

Anglican congregations say donors never meant to give to The Episcopal Church.

and six other Northern Virginia congregations want a judge to let them keep donations they received before their "official" split from The Episcopal Church. They argue that many of the donations and gifts were meant for their churches, never for the TEC or its diocese.

came from Fairfax County Circuit Court Judge Randy Bellows, who granted ownership of seven church properties to The Episcopal Church. Everything the congregations acquired before Jan. 31, 2007, the date Bellows notes as the official separation from The Episcopal Church, must be forfeited to the denomination and diocese.

If the court upholds its ruling, it could fly against religious freedom and other basic rights cited in Virginia law and the Constitution--or at least, that's what the congregations argue in their Feb. 22 motion.

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“The core issue that we are asking the court to reconsider is the right of donors to restrict the use of their own gifts to the church of their choice. We believe that they could," said Jim Oakes, spokesperson for the seven Anglican congregations. "This is a religious liberty issue at its core as the courts are not lawfully able to coerce contributions to a specific religious entity against the wishes of the donors."

Church officials argue that many congregation members only donated money or gave gifts to their churches because they knew the benefit would remain in-house, never to be seen by The Episcopal Church.

Find out what's happening in Fairfax Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The renegade churches adopted "opt-out" policies, allowing their members to specify who their donations and gifts would benefit. This policy was created after congregations saw a decrease in donations, years before the court-defined split. Church officials claim members stopped giving to their churches because they didn't want any of their donations to go to a diocese they no longer believed in. 

"By 2006, virtually all of the contributions held by these congregations were from donors who had indicated that their gifts were not to go to or be used for the benefit of The Episcopal Church or the Diocese," read a memo released by the congregations.

So far the congregations have gotten one state official's attention. Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli supported their motion in a Feb. 22 memo to the court. This isn't the first time this case has sparked statewide attention. Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell openly backed the congregations' split from The Episcopal Church in 2008.

Check Patch soon for more info on how state leaders jumped into the fray.

Truro Church and  in Fairfax City, and The Falls Church, were among the seven congregations to leave The Episcopal Church in 2006 because of the denomination's decision to elect an openly homosexual bishop. 

Check out these stories for more about the issue:


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