The Protestant Episcopal Church v. The Episcopal Church

SCApril 20, 2022No. 2020-000986

Case Details

Status: Published
Procedural Posture: Appeal from 2020 circuit court decision regarding parish-by-parish real property determination; review of 2017 Court's decision regarding trust property

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Outcome

The court held that the 2017 Court did not make a final decision on real property owned by twenty-nine parishes, requiring circuit court review on a parish-by-parish basis. The court determined that real and personal property held in trust by the Trustees is now held for the benefit of the Associated Diocese.

Excerpt

The dispute before the Court in this case is which church entity became the legal or beneficial owner of certain real and personal property after The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina (Disassociated Diocese) and thirty-six individual Episcopal Parishes (Parishes) disassociated from The Episcopal Church in the United States of America (National Church). The dispute requires us to address two broad questions. First, who now owns the real estate long-owned and occupied by the individual Parishes. Second, who is now the beneficiary of a statutorily-created trust controlled by the Trustees of The Protestant Episcopal Church in South Carolina (Trustees). As to the first question, we hold the 2017 Court did not make a final decision as to the real property owned by twenty-nine Parishes, and thus, we review the circuit court's 2020 Parish by Parish determination. As to the second question, we hold the 2017 Court decided the real and personal property held in trust by the Trustees is now held for the benefit of the Associated Diocese.

What This Ruling Means

**Church Property Dispute Ruling Explained** This case involved a major disagreement over who owns church property after The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina and 36 individual parishes broke away from the national Episcopal Church in the United States. When religious organizations split like this, it creates complex questions about who gets to keep the buildings, land, and other assets that were built up over many years. The South Carolina Supreme Court made a mixed decision. The court said that an earlier 2017 ruling didn't fully resolve which entity owns the real estate of 29 parishes, so those cases must be reviewed individually by lower courts. However, the court did decide that property held in trust by church trustees should now benefit the diocese that remained associated with the national church. **Why this matters for workers:** This ruling is particularly important for employees of religious organizations. When churches, synagogues, mosques, or other faith-based employers experience splits or reorganizations, workers may face uncertainty about job security, benefits, and even which entity they technically work for. Understanding that property disputes can take years to resolve through the courts helps religious organization employees prepare for potential workplace changes during institutional conflicts.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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This ruling information is sourced from public court records via CourtListener.com. It is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.