A NEW DAY
FOR THE DIOCESE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Yesterday was a perfect spring day at my house, blue sky, sunny, warm. As I strolled about my garden, I was enveloped in the new life of spring all around me, fresh green growth bursting forth, colorful flowers warmed by the loving sun, scents sent from heaven, and a singing choir of little feathery angels. It was a new day too for the Diocese of South Carolina. It chose a new bishop. This was the first bishop's election there in fourteen years. It was the first election in the history of the diocese to go to a woman. The diocese chose as its XV shepherd Ruth Woodliff-Stanley. A new day has dawned for the battle weary and long-suffering band of Episcopalian foot soldiers in the eastern half of South Carolina. A new commanding general is on the way.
The Diocese of South Carolina is still in the worst crisis of its long and eventful history, at least since the Civil War, and arguably ever. When the majority of clergy and laity bolted the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of South Carolina in 2012, they purported to take the diocese and most of the local properties with them. They claimed the entity of the old diocese, all but a handful of parishes, and the diocesan camp, St. Christopher. They immediately sued in court claiming ownership of these. They declared legal war against the Episcopal Church on Jan. 4, 2013 and have been fighting fiercely since. That is more than eight years of combat. It is no wonder the Episcopalians of South Carolina are exhausted and longing for a return to "normality." Everyone has battle fatigue.
The two large legal issues are still unresolved, even after all this time. One is the ownership of the entity of the diocese. The federal district court in Charleston ruled in 2019 entirely in favor of the Episcopal Church and issued an injunction forbidding the schismatics from claiming to be in any way the pre-schism diocese. The breakaways then filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals. At present, there is a stay. The appeals court will take up the matter after the South Carolina Supreme Court issues its decision.
The second large legal issue is the ownership of 29 parishes and Camp St. Christopher. In 2017, the South Carolina Supreme Court awarded these to the Episcopal Church diocese. However, the circuit court, which was directed to implement this decision, reversed it and declared that the Episcopal Church did not own the parishes and the camp. The Church diocese appealed to the state supreme court. At present, we are awaiting word from the court on whether they will hold a hearing, or just issue a written decision. They could uphold the 2017 SC Supreme Court decision; or, they could leave in place the circuit court order. If they leave in place the circuit court order they will be establishing the precedent that a lower court can overturn a decision of the state supreme court, something that at the very least defies common sense.
Unless the courts act before then, this is the state of matters that Bishop Woodliff-Stanley will walk into in October when she is consecrated the XV bishop (she has to be affirmed by a majority of bishops and Standing Committees first, surely a formality). She will have her hands full. By all the indications she gave in the bishop's search, she will hit the ground running with fresh vigor. I am envisioning Joan of Arc (or perhaps Ruth of Mississippi). The beleaguered forces still fighting in the trenches should take heart. New leadership and a new day are just ahead. It is springtime in the Diocese of South Carolina.
