The Supreme Court of Connecticut today decided in favor of the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut in a dispute arising when a number of former Episcopalians claimed ownership of the building and property of the parish they had attended.
“Justices rejected an appeal of a lower court ruling by the Bishop Seabury Church in Groton, which like dozens of parishes nationwide split from the national Episcopal Church after the 2003 appointment of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire. Bishop Seabury Church’s governing board voted in 2007 to join the more conservative Convocation of Anglicans in North America.
[…]Justice Peter Zarella, in writing the 6-0 decision, agreed with the diocese, citing the so-called Dennis Canon approved in 1979 by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church.
“We now conclude under neutral principles of law that the Dennis Canon applies and that it clearly establishes an express trust interest in the property in favor of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese,” Zarella wrote.”
More here.
The article goes on to list all the instances where State supreme courts and other courts have ruled in favor of the Episcopal Church and the argument that the Dennis Canon means that all property in the Episcopal Church is held in trust for the Episcopal Church as a whole.