Canadian Court Rules Against Break-Away Anglican Parishes

In Bentley v. Anglican Synod of the Diocese of Westminster, (BC Ct. App., Nov. 15, 2010), the Court of Appeal in the Canadian province of British Columbia refused to permit four break-away Anglican parishes to continue to use parish property and assets for worship. It also agreed with the trial court that a bequest to one of the parishes remained with it. In the opinion, the court rejected the American "neutral principles of law" approach to deciding disputes over church property. Finding that parish properties are held in trust, the court concluded:

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.

An excellent longer summary of the court's decision has been prepared by Lexology. (See prior related posting.)