Court Rules Breakaway SC Episcopal Churches Can Keep $500 Million in Property

From The State
By John Monk

A S.C. Circuit Court judge ruled Tuesday that the Diocese of South Carolina that withdrew three years ago from the national Episcopal Church can keep more than $500 million in church property.

The parishes have been at the center of a dispute between the diocese and The Episcopal Church since Bishop Mark Lawrence broke away from the national church in 2012, taking 36 parishes with him.

S.C. Episcopal Diocese Releases Property Claim

The distance between The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina widened last week when the diocese relinquished its legal oversight of all church property, sending what’s called a quitclaim deed to each parish.

The move merely formalizes an arrangement already in place, according to Bishop Mark Lawrence. “A quitclaim deed isn’t giving someone something they don’t have if they already own the deed,” he said.

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