IT'S A NEW DAY.

An editorial,  24 April 2022

After ten grueling years, the legal war of the schism is virtually over. The outcome is roughly a 50/50 split. The Episcopal side gets the entity of the old diocese, including all its assets and about half the local churches, mostly smaller ones, while the Anglican side gets all of the large parishes, except for Grace Church of Charleston. In short, the Episcopal side winds up with the historic diocese while the Anglicans wind up with most of the large and medium sized local churches. This is close to what the Episcopal side proposed in 2015, a swap of the diocese for the parishes.

The reality now is that the old diocese is divided into two, probably for the foreseeable future, and each one owns about half of the old diocese. This is the essential settlement of the schism, like it or not. This is the way it is and will be for a long time at least. 

To be sure, the technicalities of the litigation are not quite over. The SC Supreme Court will have to send its "Revised Opinion" with a Remittitur to the circuit court for implementation. The federal appeals court still has before it the Anglicans' appeal of Judge Gergel's order of 2019. 

The most unexpected, and uplifting, event of last week was not the state supreme court ruling. It was the surprise friendly visit of the two bishops, Woodliff Stanley and Edgar. Did anyone ever expect this to happen? This may come to nothing, but on the other hand may change everything. It should. Ten years of destruction is enough.

Both bishops are new on the job and both come from the outside. Neither had anything to do with the schism or the ensuing litigation. They bring a fresh new perspective. They have all the potential to give us a new day. Did we ever need it more? No.

The past is the past. As much as we may wish, we cannot change it. Our only power is to make choices for today and tomorrow. We have control over the future, not the past. What kind of future do the two sides want? There are two choices, more of the warfare or peaceful coexistence. It has to be one or the other.

It is within the power of the two new bishops to declare the past behind us and to guide their flocks into a brighter new day. To do that they have to bring the legal war to the end. The day of the lawyer has to be over. This would be the honorable, not to mention Christian, thing to do.

The state court has to proceed for the implementation. What both sides could do here is to prompt the circuit judge to make an expeditious enactment and give full mutual cooperation for the earliest settlement of the provisions. There should be no more delay or objection. 

The federal court does not have to proceed. The Anglican side could withdraw its appeal, perhaps in return for the Episcopal side's surrender of any claim to the eleven, or so, local churches that were not in the lawsuit. However, if the Anglicans press on, they should accept the appeals court's decision without further delay or objection. The appeals court will almost certainly uphold Gergel. With that, the Anglican side should begin the process of accounting for and transferring possession of the diocesan properties and assets.

It's a new day. Easter is here. Spring is here. The schism is at a settlement. The two dioceses have old finality and fresh new leadership. It is time to put the ugly past behind us and proceed boldly into a brighter future. For starters, let's have more meetings of the bishops.