THE STATUS OF THE SCHISM,

25 AUGUST 2022

This is a convenient moment to stop and take stock of the where we are in the history of the schism in South Carolina. At least we can try to do that. There has been so much going on all around us that it is easy to get lost in the confusion. So, let's try to straighten things out and get a grasp of the relative positions of the two dioceses as of this point. Since I am not a part of either diocese in question, I do not have access to the inner workings, nor do I wish to have. I am an independent voice. So, all of my information comes from printed sources of the dioceses, the court papers, and information provided on the record. Here is what I see now:

The South Carolina Supreme Court issued a third "final" decision on the church case on 17 August 2022. It revoked and replaced its earlier two "final" decisions (2 August 2017 and 20 April 2022). As of the third SCSC iteration, the new Anglican diocese gets 27 (the 28th is St. Andrew's of Mt. Pleasant, a part of the ACNA Diocese of the Carolinas) of the 36 parishes in the lawsuit of 2013. The Episcopal diocese gets 8 of the 36.

Is this final? Who knows? The only thing we finally know for sure from the SCSC is that there is no finality with this bench. These justices revoked and replaced two earlier majority decisions as if that were just routine business. They showed no qualms about it. What is to keep them from doing it again? If I were an attorney on either side, I would file everything I could with the SCSC hoping something would stick. Twice the court agreed to overturn its own majority decisions. 

I am not a legal expert, but I have never heard of a supreme court, state or federal, revoking, TWICE, its own majority decisions on the same case. Now, to be sure, the U.S. Supreme Court has revoked and replaced settled law, most famously in the Brown case of 1954 which replaced the Plessy decision of 1896 (integration replaced segregation) and the Dobbs case of 2022 which replaced the Roe decision of 1973 (removed constitutional protection of abortion). However, in both instances, these were two different cases. The church case in South Carolina was the same case, judged three times in three different and contradictory ways.

All we can say, then, is the SCSC order as of this moment. It is that 8 of the original 36 plaintiff parishes now belong to the Episcopal diocese:

---Holy Trinity, Charleston

---St. Bartholomew's, Hartsville

---St. David's, Cheraw

---St. James, James Island, Charleston

---St. John's, Johns Island, Charleston

---St. Matthew's, Ft. Motte

---Good Shepherd, Charleston

---Christ Church, Mt. Pleasant

Of these 8, 2 have actually made the transfer of the property: St. John's, of Johns Island, and St. David's, of Cheraw. These events were cordial by all accounts. One more has set a transfer at the end of this month, Christ Church, of Mt. Pleasant. To my knowledge, the other five have not yet publicly announced details of their transfers.

At the time of the schism, in 2012, 50 of the 70 or so local churches (parishes and missions) adhered to the separation from the Episcopal Church. Of those, 36 entered the lawsuit against the Episcopal Church in 2013. By my unofficial count, there were about a dozen churches that went along with the separatists but did not enter the lawsuit. These are ones I have identified in this group. There are others:

---Barnwell, Holy Apostles

---Dillon, St. Barnabas

---Florence, Christ Church

---Goose Creek, St. James

---Grahamville, Holy Trinity

---Hagood, Church of the Ascension

---Marion, The Advent

---Orangeburg, St. Paul's

---Pineville, Church of the Redeemer

---Sullivans Island, Holy Cross

The last is the only large parish in this line up. Since these local churches were not in the lawsuit, the court has not ruled on their placement. It is possible the Episcopal diocese could go to court to recover these properties. That would be entirely up to the authorities of the diocese, their counsel, and the national church lawyers. I have heard nothing about what they intend to do concerning these churches but will relay information as I receive it. My guess is that the Church would have to prove that each one had "adopted" or "acceded" to the Dennis Canon after 1979 and before 2006 since this is unfortunately the du jour standard of judgment in the SCSC.

The local churches were not the only properties in question before the SCSC. The court also ruled (all three times) that the Episcopal diocese is the owner of the old diocesan properties, as Camp St. Christopher. I presume that these diocesan property transfers are either underway or will be so soon although I have no hard evidence of this.

As for the two dioceses themselves, both are trying to find their ways forward, under new leadership, as they try to deal with the chaotic rulings of the state's high court. It is not easy. On top of this, both are still struggling with the effects of the pandemic on church membership and participation. All churches seem to be searching for ways to rebuild after the long closures and restrictions of 2020-21. 

Before Covid, the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina was already losing members steadily. By its own statistics, its 50 local churches went from 23,455 baptized members in 2012 to 19,597 in 2020. This was a loss of 3,858, or 16%, in the 8 years. Communicant numbers (active members) dropped even faster, from 17,812 in 2012 to 11,327 in 2020, a fall of 6,485, or 36% in the 8 years. At this rate of decline, the viability of this diocese will become problematical within a few years. This gives credence to the idea that the ADSC will melt into the Diocese of the Carolinas, also in the Anglican Church in North America. Its head is Steve Wood, of St. Andrew's, of Mt. Pleasant.

Meanwhile, the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina is trying to hold its own with some 7,400 members, up some 2,000 since the schism of 2012. Its biggest problem at the moment is how to reestablish church life in the 8 restored parishes. So far so good in the two that have returned, St. John's and St. David's. Both have outstanding clergy and strong bands of faithful church people. Their futures look promising.

Now, back to the litigation. Since the start, in 2013, the legal war has been waged on two fronts, state court and federal court. In state court, the secessionists sued the Episcopal Church for the entity of the old diocese and possession of the 36 parishes. This is the case that the SCSC ruled on for the third time a few days ago. As we have seen, there is no finality, there is no closure on this front. Your guess of where this is going to go from here is as good as mine.

The federal track is different. There, the Episcopal bishop sued the separatist bishop essentially for the rights to the pre-schism diocese. After some six years, the federal district court in Charleston agreed that the Episcopal diocese was the one and only legal heir of the old diocese. He even issued an Injunction forbidding the pretenders from claiming in any way to be the old diocese. He proclaimed that the separatists had formed a new entity after the schism. (Actually, the SCSC had agreed that that Episcopal diocese was the heir of the old diocese; and it reiterated this in 2022 and again in 2022). 

The ADSC appealed the district court order to the United State Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. This court has set the appeal aside until the SCSC finishes its ruling on the case (I wonder how the appeals judges will know when SCSC finishes). In my opinion, the appeals court will uphold the lower court because Judge Gergel's opinion is brilliantly written to be virtually appeal-proof and because the SCSC has consistently opined that the Episcopal diocese is the heir. Odds are that the Episcopal diocese will finally wind up with the legal entity of the old diocese (along with all of its assets).

This summarizes where the Episcopal Church schism in lower SC stands of today, or at least my view of it. I wish fervently that we could say that the end is in view, that closure is at hand. Alas, this is not the case. Unfortunately, there is more to come on this long and rocky road and so we must summon up the strength and courage to press on until the day comes when we can close the book on this saddest of episodes.    

We will soon be marking ten years since the schism occurred. With this in mind, I expect to be posting several articles of thoughts on the history of the schism. Until then, peace.

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BTW, there is a good summary of the state of the schism in SC in the latest The Living Church magazine. Find it HERE . To my surprise, the author, Kirk Petersen, points out my work. I am happy to say that my history of the schism, Kindle version, often places among the top works on the Episcopal Church, on Amazon. I am gratified that people find it of interest and use. Long and detailed, it tells one everything one needs to know, and probably more than one wants to know, about the background and events of the schism up to August of 2017 and the first SCSC decision. What has happened in the five years since then would fill another volume. I would not start one until the schism has finality and closure, and God only knows when that will be. Anyway, it has been my privilege to write the history of the schism and to keep this blog. It is a labor of love.