The Diocese of San Diego filed suit Sept. 28 against St. John’s Anglican Church, Fallbrook, Calif., the Rev. Donald Kroeger, and nine church volunteers, according to an online report. The dispute centers on the right of the congregation to continue worshiping at St. John’s.

According to the Fallbrook church, the suit alleges that the diocese and the Rt. Rev. James Mathes, Bishop of San Diego, are the rightful owners of the St. John’s property. The church contends that the diocese has demanded a hearing before the San Diego Superior Court to resolve the case without having served the defendants with the lawsuit.

In July, members of the parish voted 71-13 in favor of disaffiliating from The Episcopal Church. St. John’s is now under the jurisdictional oversight of the Rt. Rev. Evans M. Kisekka, Bishop of the Ugandan Diocese of Luweero.

“I fail to see how allowing St. John’s and church volunteers a fair opportunity to defend themselves in court, instead of this kind of sneak attack to confiscate our property, would have damaged Bishop Mathes or the Diocese of San Diego in any way,” Fr. Kroeger said.

“An aggressive lawsuit suing church volunteers is beyond reason,” said Rick Crossley, a congregational leader. “The money that will be spent to prosecute and defend this lawsuit could be put to much better use to help the mission of the Church.”

Mr. Crossley told The Living Church in July that the congregation had no intention of finding another location in which to worship. Bishop Mathes responded to the July announcement by saying “while some people may leave a church, a congregation may not leave a diocese. I’m deeply sad for those members of this parish who have been hurt by this decision to split the congregation.”

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