Members of Grace and St. Stephen’s Church, Colorado Springs, who have remained loyal to the Diocese of Colorado were elated after Judge Larry Schwartz of the El Paso County District Court issued a judgment March 24 which found The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Colorado to be the legitimate owners of all church property estimated to be worth $17 million.
 
“We’re coming home and we invite all of our friends to come with us,” said Lynn L. Olney, senior warden of the loyalist congregation. “During the past two years of exile, our parish congregation has shown the meaning of a faith community.”
 
In 2005, the Rt. Rev. Robert O’Neill, Bishop of Colorado, confronted the Rev. Donald Armstrong, rector of Grace and St. Stephen’s, over concerns about payments to the Church Pension Fund. He later discovered that the congregation had obtained a $1.8-million loan without first obtaining diocesan permission to encumber the property. Bishop O’Neill eventually ordered a forensic audit. As a result, Bishop O’Neill concluded that Fr. Armstrong had engaged in financial misconduct. He inhibited Fr. Armstrong in 2006 and later deposed him from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church.
 
Fr. Armstrong and a number of other traditionalist members of the parish believed the actions of Bishop O’Neill were politically motivated. The parish was already roiled by the consecration of a partnered homosexual person as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire in 2003, and in 2007 a majority of members voted to disaffiliate from The Episcopal Church.
 
Eventually Fr. Armstrong and those members loyal to him affiliated with the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a missionary outreach of the Anglican Church of Nigeria. They sued the diocese and Bishop O’Neill, seeking to be declared the rightful owners of the property. Bishop O’Neill and the diocese countersued, alleging ownership of the same property and charging the leadership of the dissident congregation with a variety of offenses including theft, conversion, unjust enrichment and trespass. Those members who wished to remain Episcopalian have been using the facilities at nearby First Christian Church while the trial progressed.
 
Judge Schwartz divided the case into two parts. On the matter of ownership, he decided that a court trial without jury would be sufficient, and he ruled against the plaintiffs. He has scheduled a jury trial on the other charges for Aug. 10, but in his ruling he recommended that the two sides settle the remaining issues out of court and expressed doubt that the diocese could prevail.
 
“My concerns regarding the remaining claims are as follows: Claims of trespass, theft, conspiracy and the like all revolve around the notion that the offending party had no authority to use the property of another,” he said. “The parish held legal title to the property subject to the Bishop’s ‘equitable’ claim of trust. The counterclaim defendants represented the majority of the parish and had a reasonable basis to conclude that they had the absolute right to use the property. That reasonable belief extended up until I entered this order to the contrary.”
 
Within hours after the decision was announced, Fr. Armstrong called police after the diocese sent two private security cars to patrol the property. After Fr. Armstrong produced a “writ of restitution” signed by the court, the police asked the security guards to leave the premises, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
 
The security guards were hired to ensure that the dissident group did not remove any property unlawfully, said Larry Hitt, chancellor for the diocese. Mr. Hitt said there had been some confusion as to when the dissident congregation was required to vacate the property and turn over all records. Judge Schwartz ruled in the writ that the current occupants had until April 1. Both sides were to return to court March 25 after the congregation loyal to Fr. Armstrong asked for a temporary delay of the eviction order.
 
“Our congregation will take some time to review [Judge Schwartz’s] ruling with our attorneys before we make a formal response,” Fr. Armstrong said. “There is much yet to be settled even with this significant ruling now issued.”
 
Mr. Hitt said the diocese would “take into consideration in good faith the judge’s recommendations on the outstanding claims against the individual defendants” scheduled for trial in August. In the meantime, the security guards hired by the diocese would continue to monitor the church building from the public sidewalk during business hours.
 
Steve Waring
 
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