In
Protestant Episcopal Church v. Church of the Messiah,
2020 Va. Cir. LEXIS 52 (VA Cir. Ct., Feb. 24, 2020), which just became available on Lexis, a Virginia state trial court held that church property belongs to the Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church and not to the break-away parish, Church of the Messiah that adopted a "charismatic" worship tradition. The court said in part
The Parish clearly breached its fiduciary obligation to the Diocese when its Rector and its Vestry disregarded their oath to conform to the Episcopal denomination and instead led the congregation in a vote to disassociate from the Diocese and the Episcopal Church.... In this case, the Parish stood in a fiduciary relation to the Diocese and the Episcopal Church and enjoyed title to the Property for the benefit of members of the Episcopal denomination. Over time, it appears that the members of the Parish lost sight of this relationship, instead envisioning themselves as having some personal ownership interest in the Property by virtue of their contributions to the extensive improvements and maintenance through the years. When the leaders chose to remain loyal to the congregation in its dilemma between the members' personal beliefs and the policies of the Episcopal church, the leadership was obligated to resign. Instead, they abused the authority derived from their position in the Episcopal Church by attempting to remove the Property from the Episcopal congregation for whose benefit it was held in trust and keep it for the use and benefit of another congregation entirely....
The new congregation for whose benefit the Property is currently held bears little resemblance to the mission formed by the charter members, who, when they became unsatisfied with their churches' religious practices, were willing to leave the security and comfort of their church buildings to worship in accordance with their beliefs. By attempting to "acquire an interest" in the Property on behalf of this new congregation, the leadership of the Parish breached their fiduciary duty, and, accordingly, the Court will impose a constructive trust.
