COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A breakaway Episcopal parish in Colorado Springs has operated since its inception as a corporation separate from the Episcopal Church, and its vestry is therefore the sole owner of the historic church and its property, a parish attorney said.
Gregory Walta, attorney for Grace Church and St. Stephen’s, gave opening remarks Tuesday in the trial to decide ownership of the $17 million gothic-style church.
He said Grace Church has been independent of the national church since it was founded in 1874, buying and selling property, establishing other churches and adopting its own bylaws.
As its own corporation, Grace has retained control of its property, Walta said.
Ownership of the Tejon Street property has been in dispute since March 2007, when the Grace Church and St. Stephen’s vestry led part of its 2,500-member congregation away from the national body because of theological differences.
The group aligned itself with the conservative Anglican Communion province in Nigeria but continued to worship in the building. The other group, Grace Church and St. Stephen’s Episcopal, chose to remain with the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado and has been worshipping at another downtown church, while maintaining that the Tejon Street property belongs to the diocese.
Martin Nussbaum, an attorney for the diocese, said legal precedent in seven states, including Colorado, favors the national church. In those cases, he said, the courts have ruled that an Episcopal church that leaves the national body loses its property.
The case, being argued in El Paso County District Court, is expected to last five to six weeks.
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Information from: The Gazette,
