The historic congregation of Christ Church, Alexandria, Va., is scheduled to vote Sunday on a resolution that would convey to Virginia Bishop Peter Lee title to several acres of property now occupied by the congregation of The Falls Church, one of 11 congregations where the majority of the congregation voted to leave The Episcopal Church in December 2006. The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Virginia have gone to court claiming they hold title to the church properties.
 
Prior to the American Revolution, the Church of England was the established church in Virginia and churches were overseen by a vestry elected by the voters in a geographic area. After Virginia became a state, the church was disestablished and ownership of church properties in Alexandria, Arlington and Fairfax County passed from the Fairfax Parish vestry to Christ Church. The U.S. Supreme Court declared the vestry of Christ Church the successor to the Fairfax Parish in 1815, a ruling the court upheld in 1824.
 
Among the land to which the court said Christ Church held title is a portion of The Falls Church’s ten-acre campus. The original two-acre parcel includes the historic church structure dating back to the 1760s. The congregation has subsequently built another, larger sanctuary where most worship services are held. Christ Church in Alexandria has no ownership interest in the majority of the campus.
 
Last month, lawyers for the Diocese of Virginia informed the senior warden of Christ Church, the Hon. Rawles Jones, Jr., that Christ Church held title to part of the land now occupied by The Falls Church. On Oct. 13, Bishop Lee formally asked Judge Jones whether the vestry of Christ Church would be willing to call for a congregational vote to convey title to the property now occupied by The Falls Church to Bishop Lee in his official capacity. The vestry met in executive session and approved the request on Oct. 15. Both the state and the Diocese of Virginia require a vote by the congregation before a church can transfer title to property.
 
“We’ve been asked to do this in part, I believe, because as we are not a party [to the lawsuit] it is best for the diocese to pursue the claim,” said Russell Randle, counsel for Christ Church. “Christ Church helped found the Diocese of Virginia. We certainly don’t want to see it wrecked.”
 
The Oct. 19 vote precedes a hearing in Fairfax County civil court the following day.
 
Last week Judge Randy Bellows declared that title to the property of Christ the Redeemer Church was properly transferred back to Truro Church, another of the 11 CANA congregations. Christ the Redeemer was a mission plant of Truro Church. After Christ Church closed, the congregation deeded the property back to the parent.
 
The assistance of Christ Church, Alexandria, is potentially a welcome development after what Bishop Lee described as a series of "disheartening" rulings by the circuit court of Fairfax County. In an Oct. 16 letter to the diocese, Bishop Lee assured members "that the Diocese of Virginia will vigorously appeal every court decision that denies any Episcopalians their rightful church homes" and that the diocese had faced many challenges in the past and that they would also emerge from this one "renewed and strengthened in our mission to serve Christ's Church."
 
Steve Waring
 
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