Property Dispute Between New York Episcopal Parish and Diocese

In another of the growing number of disputes over ownership of church property, today's Syracuse (NY) Post-Standard reports that the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York filed a lawsuit Wednesday against St. Andrew's Church in Syracuse, asking a state trial court to grant the diocese a restraining order to prevent the parish from selling church real estate. In February, the parish which objects to positions of the diocese such as Bishop Gladstone "Skip" Adams' support of the ordination of a gay bishop, filed an amendment to its certificate of incorporation requesting that ecclesiastic oversight move from Adams to Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini, head of Anglican Church in Rwanda and of Anglican Mission in America. The diocese claims that it, and not the parish, owns the church's real estate.