The National Post reports
Dissident Anglican churches have been told by the highest court in British Columbia that they have no right to hang onto buildings and land they claimed in a long-running dispute over same-sex blessings and ordered to return the property to the Anglican Church of Canada.
As a result of the ruling, issued by the B.C. Court of Appeal Monday, parishioners at four Vancouver-area churches, including the largest parish in Canada, will be expected to leave their historic church buildings, valued at more than $20-million.
The Court’s conclusion (Par. 76):
I prefer to rest my conclusion that the appeal must be dismissed, however, on the basis that the purpose of the trusts on which the parish corporations hold the church buildings and other assets is to further Anglican ministry in accordance with Anglican doctrine, and that in Canada, the General Synod has the final word on doctrinal matters. This is not to say that the plaintiffs are not in communion with the wider Anglican Church – that is a question on which I would not presume to opine. I do say, however, that members of the Anglican Church in Canada belong to an organization that has subscribed to “government by bishops.” The plaintiffs cannot in my respectful opinion remove themselves from their bishop’s oversight and the diocesan structure and retain the right to use properties that are held for purposes of Anglican ministry in Canada.
The Court of Appeal ruling 2010 BCCA Bentley v. Anglican Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster HERE