The Diocese of South Carolina: A Timeline
1783
The American Revolution ends. Parishes in America that formerly were part of the Church of England under the authority of the Bishop of London are left without bishops or any church structure beyond the parish level.
1789
The Episcopal Church adopts a Constitution, and the Diocese of South Carolina is established.
1790
The Diocese of South Carolina adopts a Constitution, with the first sentence reading, “The Church in the Diocese of South Carolina accedes to the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America,” the historical name for what is now called The Episcopal Church.
1872
The U.S. Supreme Court issues the first of several decisions upholding the hierarchical nature of The Episcopal Church.
2003-2006
Disagreements over issues related to human sexuality and other matters are the topic of debate among church leaders. In a few dioceses, leaders take steps to break away from The Episcopal Church. In South Carolina, resolutions are passed seeking to distance the diocese from decisions made at General Convention.
2006
South Carolina’s diocesan convention chooses Mark Lawrence as bishop-elect. His election does not receive consents from a majority of the Standing Committees of other dioceses across The Episcopal Church (a requirement of church canons), as concerns are raised about whether he intends to remain part of The Episcopal Church. A second election is held, and this time Mark Lawrence states his intent to “remain in The Episcopal Church.” As a result, a majority of other dioceses give their consent for him to become bishop of South Carolina.
October 2010
Bishop Lawrence presides over a diocesan convention where changes are made in the Constitution and Canons of the diocese to remove its accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
October 2011
Bishop Lawrence, as president of the diocese’s nonprofit corporation, files amendments to the corporate charter deleting all references to The Episcopal Church and obedience to its Constitution and Canons.
November 2011
Bishop Lawrence and some diocesan bodies issue quitclaim deeds to every parish of the Diocese of South Carolina, in which the diocese disclaims any interest in the parishes’ properties.
October 2012
A Disciplinary Board of The Episcopal Church issues a “Certificate of Abandonment,” saying the actions taken by Bishop Lawrence in 2010-2011 constituted “abandonment of The Episcopal Church by an open renunciation of the Discipline of the Church.” The Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, notifies Bishop Lawrence that she has placed a restriction on his ministry, as required by TEC’s Canons, preventing him from engaging in ministerial acts until the House of Bishops can look into the allegations of abandonment and make a decision.
Two days later, an announcement is placed on the Diocese of South Carolina website stating that the leadership of the Diocese had put resolutions in place earlier that would become effective if any disciplinary action was taken by TEC regarding Bishop Lawrence. “As a result of TEC’s attack against our Bishop, the Diocese of South Carolina is disassociated from TEC, that is, its accession to the TEC Constitution and its membership in TEC have been withdrawn,” according to the announcement.
Two days after that, Bishop Lawrence announces to a meeting of all diocesan clergy that he and the diocese are “no longer associated with the Episcopal Church.”
November 17, 2012
Addressing a special meeting of parish leaders who support breaking away from TEC, Bishop Lawrence again announces that he and the diocese have “withdrawn” from The Episcopal Church.
December 2012
The Presiding Bishop announces she has accepted Bishop Lawrence’s renunciation of the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church on December 5, and declares him removed. Working in consultation with a steering committee of local Episcopalians, the Presiding Bishop calls a special Diocesan Convention for January, so a new bishop and standing committee can be elected for the continuing diocese.
January 2013
On January 4, a lawsuit is filed in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church by two corporations claiming to represent the Diocese of South Carolina and some of its parishes, seeking a declaratory judgment that they are the sole owners of the property, name and seal of the diocese. The complaint was later amended to include a total of 34 parishes.
On January 23, a judge issues a temporary restraining order preventing The Episcopal Church from using the name or symbols of the diocese. The court order later becomes a temporary injunction.
January 26, 2013
A special Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church, Charleston, with clergy and lay delegates representing the continuing Episcopal Church parishes and missions. To comply with the restraining order, the diocese adopts a temporary name, “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina,” so it can conduct business.
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg is elected provisional bishop and immediately invested by the Presiding Bishop. (Provisional bishops have all the authority and duties of other bishops, but typically serve for a limited period of time while a diocese is in period of reorganization.) A new Standing Committee and Diocesan Council are elected.
February 2013
With the consent of all parties, the state court lawsuit filed by the breakaway group is amended on February 28 to add “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina” as a defendant.
March 2013
Bishop vonRosenberg files a complaint in U.S. District Court against Bishop Lawrence, citing violations of the Lanham Act, the primary federal trademark law of the United States, which prohibits trademark infringement and false advertising. The suit, vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, says that by representing himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is engaging in false advertising.
Later in March, TECSC files its response to the breakaways’ lawsuit, saying that Mark Lawrence and the faction that followed him out of The Episcopal Church have no authority over the assets or property of the diocese, and engaged in a plan to damage the diocese.
On March 8-9, the 222nd Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church, Charleston, with the diocese continuing to operate under the name “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.” Delegates representing the parishes and missions that remain part of TEC officially adopt amendments returning the Constitution and Canons to their 2007 version, so that the diocese again accedes to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. St. Mark’s, Port Royal, is officially admitted as a mission church of the diocese.
August 2013
After several attempts to contact and engage in conversations with clergy in the breakaway group, more than 100 clergy receive official “Notice of Removal” from Bishop vonRosenberg, removing them from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church. In hope of an eventual reconciliation, the Bishop exercises his right to “release and remove” the clergy, rather than “depose” them on grounds of abandonment. This action left open a path for them to return to the ordained ministry in the future.
December 2013
In a hearing, TECSC brings forth an affidavit from the Rev. Thomas M. Rickenbaker, a retired priest. Under oath, Fr. Rickenbaker said he was contacted in 2005 as a potential nominee to become Bishop of South Carolina and was asked by search committee members, "What can you do to help us leave The Episcopal Church and take our property with us?" The affidavit supports TECSC's claim that the "withdrawal" in 2012 was the result of a long-planned scheme by several individuals.
At the hearing, Judge Diane S. Goodstein denied a motion to have four individuals – Mark Lawrence; Paul Fuener as a Standing Committee president; Jim Lewis as Canon to the Ordinary of the diocese; and Jeffrey Miller as a Standing Committee president – added to the suit. TECSC said the four were necessary parties because the actions they took to “withdraw” were outside the scope of their legal authority and violated state law.
January 2014
TECSC files an appeal with the SC Court of Appeals seeking access to correspondence between attorney Alan Runyan and Mark Lawrence prior to the 2012 split, when he represented the then-unified diocese and was jointly representing parties on both sides of the case. Mr. Runyan went on to be the lead attorney for the breakaway group. The appeal effectively stayed the case, which was in the discovery phase with multiple depositions being taken on all sides. The appeal was later transferred to the SC Supreme Court.
February 2014
The 223rd Annual Diocesan Convention is held at All Saints, Hilton Head Island, with Bishop Michael Curry as the convention preacher. Five congregations are admitted as missions of the diocese. Further changes to the Constitution and Canons are approved to formally acknowledge the diocese as part of the wider church.
May 2014
The SC Supreme Court dismisses TECSC’s appeal over the disputed correspondence between Mr. Runyan and Mark Lawrence.
June 2014
TECSC files an appeal in the SC Court of Appeals seeking to overturn Judge Goodstein's ruling against adding individual parties to the case, asking that Mark Lawrence and three others be added as parties.
July 3, 2014
The appeal is dismissed and Judge Goodstein rules that the trial must begin on July 8.
July 8-25, 2014
A 14-day trial is held in the Dorchester County Courthouse in St. George, South Carolina before Judge Diane S. Goodstein. Find daily reports and trial transcripts here.
September 2014
The Reverend H. Dagnall Free Jr. is welcomed back into good standing as a priest in The Episcopal Church by Bishop vonRosenberg, having gone through a formal reconciliation process that was created in South Carolina in the hope that clergy who were “released and removed” in 2013 would choose to return to the church.
November 2014
The annual convention date having been moved to autumn, the 224th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston. Three more new congregations are formally admitted as mission churches, bringing the total number of churches “in union” with the convention to 30. Bishop James Tengatenga, Chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council and former Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Malawi in Africa, is the preacher at the Convention Eucharist.
January 28, 2015
Oral arguments are heard before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., in vonRosenberg v. Lawrence.
February 4, 2015
In the state court case, Judge Goodstein rules in favor of the breakaway group, giving the group the right to hold onto the name and property of the diocese. The ruling mirrors the language of the proposed order that was given to the judge by the plaintiffs after the trial concluded.
March 2015
TECSC and TEC appeal Judge Goodstein’s decision directly to the SC Supreme Court, seeking to bypass the SC Court of Appeals to avoid unnecessary expense and delay.
Also in March, Bishop vonRosenberg welcomes a second returning priest, the Rev. H. Jeff Wallace, back into good standing in The Episcopal Church through the reconciliation process created for priests who had been “released and removed” in 2013 following the split.
March 31, 2015
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rules in favor of Bishop vonRosenberg, in the federal false-advertising lawsuit, sending vonRosenberg v. Lawrence back to the US District Court in Charleston for another hearing. The appeals court found that the lower court erred by applying the wrong legal standard in deciding to abstain from the case.
April 15, 2015
The SC Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Judge Goodstein's decision. The court also denies the breakaway group's request for a greatly expedited schedule, and sets September 23 as the date for oral arguments. TECSC's initial brief is filed May 15.
June 2015
Seeking to end the bitter legal battle, TECSC proposes a settlement agreement to all the parties in the breakaway group, offering to let the disputed parishes keep their church properties whether or not they choose to remain part of TEC. In exchange, the proposal would require the breakaway group to return diocesan property, assets and identity to TECSC. Representatives of the breakaway diocesan group tell the media they have rejected the offer.
The parishes included in the settlement offer were:
All Saints, Florence
Christ Church, Mount Pleasant
Christ the King, Waccamaw
Christ-St. Paul’s, Yonges Island
Church of the Cross, Bluffton
Epiphany, Eutawville
Good Shepherd, Charleston
Holy Comforter, Sumter
Holy Cross, Stateburg
Holy Trinity, Charleston
Old St. Andrew’s, Charleston
Church of Our Saviour, John's Island
Prince George Winyah, Georgetown
Redeemer, Orangeburg
Resurrection, Surfside
St. Bartholomew's, Hartsville
St. David's, Cheraw
St. Helena's, Beaufort
St. James, James Island
St. John's, Florence
St. John's, John's Island
St. Jude's, Walterboro
St. Luke's, Hilton Head
St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston
St. Matthew's, Darlington
St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte
St. Matthias, Summerton
St. Michael's, Charleston
St. Paul's, Bennettsville
St. Paul's, Conway
St. Paul's, Summerville
St. Philip's, Charleston
Trinity, Edisto Island
Trinity, Pinopolis
Trinity, Myrtle Beach
June 23-July 3, 2015
TECSC sends Bishop vonRosenberg and elected lay and clergy Deputies and Alternate Deputies to the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the first deputation to attend since members of the 2012 South Carolina deputation walked out of the 77th General Convention in protest over issues of human sexuality. The 2015 South Carolina deputation is recognized with applause on the HOD floor, and participates fully in the activities of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, including the election of Michael Curry as Presiding Bishop. Prayers and condolences are offered after the tragic shooting deaths of nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, on June 17, and the deputation participates in a march against gun violence in downtown Salt Lake City.
September 10, 2015
A special joint meeting of the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council and Trustees is held with Bishop vonRosenberg to discuss the long-term governance needs of the diocese. A blue-ribbon, ad-hoc committee, the Diocesan Future Committee, is formed to study various administrative models, and eventually to make a recommendation that can be brought to Diocesan Convention.
September 21 2015
U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck issues a stay September 21 in the federal false-advertising lawsuit vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, again declining to hear the case until the final outcome of the state court case. That ruling has since been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which has not yet ruled (as of March 24, 2016).
September 23, 2015
The SC Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Columbia on the appeal by TECSC and TEC seeking to overturn the state court decision. The Supreme Court’s decision has not yet been issued (as of September 16, 2016). View video of the hearing here.
November 13-14, 2015
The 225th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, Pawleys Island. Resolutions aimed at racial reconciliation are unanimously adopted. Grace Church is officially designated as the Cathedral of the Diocese (“Grace Church Cathedral”). St. Mark’s in Port Royal is officially recognized as a parish, having been admitted as a mission in March 2013. Bishop Robert Gillies of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church is the convention preacher.
January 14, 2016
Bishop vonRosenberg announces that he will retire as Provisional Bishop of TECSC after completing his calendar of episcopal visits in June 2016.
February 11, 2016
The Standing Committee of TECSC votes to move forward with a discernment and selection process to find a new Provisional Bishop to lead the diocese after Bishop vonRosenberg’s retirement. Meanwhile, the Diocesan Future Committee continues to meet and investigate administrative models so it can make a recommendation on the governance of the diocese.
April 2016
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry visits the diocese, preaching and celebrating at five Charleston Episcopal churches. On April 10 he was part of a celebration at Grace Church Cathedral where the Very Rev. Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, recognized Grace as the newest cathedral in the Anglican Communion and presented a stone from his cathedral carved with a Canterbury Cross, now affixed near the entrance of Grace.
June 30, 2016
The Standing Committee of TECSC announces the nomination of the Right Reverend Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III as the next Provisional Bishop for the diocese, calling him to South Carolina as he prepares to retire as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. (Read more here.) A Special Diocesan Convention is called for September 10 for delegates to gather and elect Bishop Adams. Bishop vonRosenberg remains in office until Bishop Adams can take office in September.
September 10, 2016
At a Special Diocesan Convention, the Right Reverend Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III is elected by acclamation, and immediately invested and installed as the Provisional Bishop of the diocese. Read more here.
November 11-12, 2016
The 226th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston. Read about the convention here.
August 2, 2017
The South Carolina Supreme Court issues a decision in the appeal heard in 2015. Read the decision here.
September 2017
TECSC announces that mediation will take place on all issues in both state and federal litigation at the request of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel. Appointed as mediator was Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of Columbia. TECSC officials noted that the mediation could only result in action if all parties agreed to it in writing.
October 4, 2017
Bishop Adams and members of the legal team for TECSC and The Episcopal Church attended a mediation planning session in Columbia with Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. and representatives of the breakaway group involved in federal and state litigation resulting from the 2012 division in the Diocese. They announced mediation would take place for an initial 3 days beginning November 6, 2017.
November 7, 2017
At 10:45 am on the second day of mediation, TECSC officials announced that mediation with the breakaway group and Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. was recessed until December 4-5, 2017.
November 10-11, 2017
The 227th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island. Read about the convention here.
November 17, 2017
Ruling in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied motions from a disassociated group and upheld itsAugust 2 decision that property and assets of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, and most of its parishes, must remain with The Episcopal Church.
December 4, 2017
TECSC announced that mediation with Judge Anderson would be in recess until January 11-12, 2018 in Columbia.
January 12, 2018
A fourth day of mediation took place on January 12, 2018 and resulted in this statement by TECSC: "Although not resolved, the parties agreed to move forward with good faith mediation efforts to amicably resolve the case." No further mediation sessions were held.
February 9, 2018
The breakaway group files a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a review of the August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
April 17, 2018
A federal judge grants motions to expand a federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against the bishop of a group that left The Episcopal Church, adding as defendants the breakaway organization and parishes that followed Bishop Mark Lawrence in separating from The Episcopal Church.
April 26, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina introduces its new Diocesan Vision Statement, drawing inspiration from historic symbols of our diocese.
May 2, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina publishes a "Frequently Asked Questions" document to provide information and share hope for a future that remains grounded in the love of God.
May 7, 2018
The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) file their response to the petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the petition does not present any reviewable questions of federal law, and should be denied.
May 8, 2018
The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) petition the 1st Circuit Court of Common Pleas to execute the state Supreme Court's decision and return church properties to the Episcopal Church.
June 11, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court denies a petition for a writ of certiorari, letting stand the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision of August 2017 regarding church property.
July 13, 2018
Canterbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, commemorates the 90th anniversary of the martyrdom of William Alexander Guerry, 8th Bishop of South Carolina, at its daily Choral Evensong, with clergy and members of Grace Church Cathedral participating in the service. Guerry is remembered in Canterbury’s Chapel of the Saints and Martyrs of Our Time.
July 16-18, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina hosts three Open Conversations in Conway, Bluffton and Charleston, bringing together hundreds of Episcopalians and Anglicans to talk about reconciliation in the diocese and the churches of eastern South Carolina.
July 26, 2018
1st Judicial Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson holds a scheduling conference in Orangeburg with attorneys to begin setting a timetable for resolving how to implement the transfer of diocesan and parish property back to The Episcopal Church under the August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The judge asks both sides to prepare a list of issues to be resolved. The lists were submitted August 2.
August 20, 2018
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel sets March 1, 2019 as the target date for a trial in the federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church.
September 25, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina announces that representatives of the 29 returning congregations are being invited to the 228th Diocesan Convention November 16-17, 2018 in Charleston. Each returning congregation is invited to send two representatives to this annual business meeting of the diocese.
September 26, 2018
Continuing the Open Conversation series that began in July, TECSC announces a Facebook Live Open Conversation on October 11, 2018 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. so Bishop Skip Adams and four other diocesan leaders can answer questions and hear ideas from people in Episcopal/Anglican churches in eastern South Carolina.
October 11, 2018
A Live Open Conversation is held via video on Facebook to answer questions and hear ideas. You can view the entire video on Facebook, or on YouTube.
November 19, 2018
After an 85-minute hearing in Orangeburg, 1st Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson told attorneys he will have more questions for them as he prepares to decide how to implement the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision on church property matters. The judge heard only one of the five motions currently before the court in the 85-minute hearing, listening as both sides addressed a “Motion for Clarification” filed by the plaintiffs, the group that left The Episcopal Church.
December 7, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) and The Episcopal Church ask the U.S. District Court to grant motions for summary judgment and call a halt to the “pervasive” public confusion caused by a group that broke away from the church, yet continues to use Episcopal names and marks.
February 13, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel sets May 1 as the earliest date when a trial could begin in the federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church. The order represents a two-month extension from the previous schedule the judge set in August, which had called for a trial "on or after" March 1.
March 20, 2019
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church file a petition for Writ of Mandamus, asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to order the Dorchester County Circuit Court to enforce the high court’s 2017 decision and return control of diocesan property and 29 parish properties to The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, TECSC.
June 28, 2019
Saying it is “confident” that the 1st Circuit Court will act "in an expeditious manner" to resolve the case, the South Carolina Supreme Court denies the Petition for Writ of Mandamus from The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church, which had asked the court to order enforcement of the 2017 decision to return control of diocesan property and 29 parish properties to The Episcopal Church and TECSC.
July 2, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson schedules a hearing for Thursday, July 25 at 9:30 am concerning a lawsuit known as the Betterments Act case that was filed against The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church by the breakaway group. The hearing is set to take place at the Calhoun County Courthouse in St. Matthews, in the First Judicial Circuit. (The hearing date is later moved to July 23 at 10:30 am.)
July 23, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson orders all parties to enter into mediation in the dispute over implementation of the 2017 South Carolina Supreme Court decision. The action follows a hearing at the Calhoun County Courthouse in St. Matthews.
August 28, 2019
Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson indicates he will deny the motion filed by TECSC to dismiss the Betterments filed by the breakaway group.
September 9, 2019
On Monday, September 9, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson filed the order denying TECSC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the breakaway group under the state’s Betterments Act, as had been announced nearly two weeks ago. As was previously reported, the judge has made no ruling on the actual case and it is expected to be part of the court-ordered mediation.
September 19, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church today on the trademark infringement and false advertising lawsuit filed in 2013. Saying that “The time has come for this dispute to be resolved,” Judge Gergel granted the plaintiff’s (the Bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina(TECSC)) motion for summary judgement, and declared that the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church (TEC) in 2012 (and all affiliated churches) can no longer use the name “Diocese of South Carolina” nor use the “diocesan seal” or “Episcopal shield.”
September 26, 2019
Representatives for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), also known as The Diocese of South Carolina, and The Episcopal Church met with representatives of the disassociated diocese for mediation. Following the session, the following statement was released: “On July 23, 2019, Judge Dickson ordered the parties to mediate. On September 26, 2019, the parties mediated for a full day and ultimately the mediator declared an impasse.”
October 4, 2019
The Diocese of South Carolina requested a hearing from Circuit Judge Edgar Dickson on the Enforcement Petition filed in May 2018. A second request was made on October 22, 2019.
October 28, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar Dickson sent notice of a hearing on Tuesday, November 26 at 10 am at the Orangeburg County Courthouse in Orangeburg, SC, to hear the matters before the court on remittitur following the final decision and judgement of the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 2, 2017.
November 11, 2019
The Diocese of South Carolina filed a petition in federal court late yesterday requesting enforcement of the Court’s Order and Opinion and Permanent Injunction issued on September 19, 2019.
November 26, 2019
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson heard arguments on both sides for a variety of motions currently before his court relating to the South Carolina Supreme Court majority decision in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (also known as The Diocese of South Carolina) on August 2, 2017.
December 18, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion on Wednesday, December 18, granting in part the Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by The Diocese of South Carolina (The Episcopal Church in South Carolina) on November 11. Furthermore, Judge Gergel’s order denied the Motion to Stay the injunction filed by the disassociated diocese.
December 23-30, 2019
Attorneys for the disassociated diocese, as defendants-appellants in the federal trademark infringement and false advertising case brought by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), filed a Motion to Stay the Injunction and Stay the Case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The motion sought to temporarily set aside the permanent injunction enacted by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel in favor of TECSC on September 19 until the appeal has been considered by the court, but also asks the court to stay the case until a ruling is made on a case TECSC attorneys maintain is unrelated. In response, on Monday, December 30, 2019, attorneys for TECSC (now also known as the Diocese of South Carolina) and The Episcopal Church filed a Response in Opposition to Appellants’ Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case.
January 14, 2020
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case filed in December by the disassociated diocese.
February 21, 2020
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC, also known as the (Episcopal) Diocese of South Carolina) filed a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition with the South Carolina Supreme Court to bar South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson from re-litigating issues already decided by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s majority decision in favor of TECSC on August 2, 2017.
March 31, 2020
On Tuesday, March 31, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied the Diocese's petition for a Writ of Prohibition.
June 19, 2020
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson, tasked in November 2017 by the South Carolina Supreme Court (SCSC) with a remittitur to enforce the final judgment of the SCSC which ruled in August 2017 that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church, issued an Order that seems to be contrary to that decision. His order indicates that the historic Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina has no interest in the properties of the breakaway congregations that left the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church.
June 29, 2020
Attorneys for the Diocese and The Episcopal Church filed a Motion for Reconsideration and to Alter or Amend in the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial Circuit in response to the Order issued by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson that seemed to overturn the South Carolina Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017 which ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church. This judgement marked a reversal of the lower court decision.
July 14, 2020
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson denied the Motion to Reconsider filed by our Diocese. In response to yesterday’s order, lawyers for our Diocese immediately filed a Notice of Appeal, and a request for certification of the Stay of the matter until the Appeal is decided by the appellate court.
October 27, 2020
On Tuesday, October 27, U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion granting in part the Second Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by the Diocese of South Carolina on September 10 of this year, in which the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church alleged 27 violations of the Court’s previous order, including using use of the mark “Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” to apply for and obtain a federal loan from the Small Business Administration. Judge Gergel found that this usage did violate the Court’s order and that the “Defendants continue to attempt to claim the goodwill and history of the TECSC’s organization.” The disassociated diocese admitted to and corrected 25 of the violations, involving the usage of “Diocese of South Carolina” or “Diocese of SC”; “1785”; “14th Bishop” or “XIV Bishop”; and the “Diocesan Shield” or the “Episcopal Shield” on the disassociated diocese’s website and those of member congregations.
October 29, 2020
The Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals granted the motion by the disassociated diocese for a stay of its appeal (of Judge Gergel's September 19, 2019 Order which declared that the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church (TEC) in 2012 (and all affiliated churches) can no longer use the name “Diocese of South Carolina” nor use the “diocesan seal” or “Episcopal shield”) pending the next decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court in the state case involving property.
November 12, 2020
On Thursday, November 12, attorneys for The Diocese of South Carolina (also known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina) and The Episcopal Church filed an Initial Brief of Appellants with the South Carolina Supreme Court (filed along with this associated Designation of Matter). The brief was filed in response to the June 19, 2020 Order by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson that seemingly overturned the Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017 which ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church.
March 4, 2021
On Thursday, March 4, attorneys for the Diocese of South Carolina (also known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC)) and The Episcopal Church filed an Initial Reply Brief of Appellants with the South Carolina Supreme Court in response to the brief filed by the opposing side on February 12, 2021, which was filed as a reply to the diocese’s Initial Brief of Appellants filed November 12, 2020. In the March 4 brief, the national church and the historic diocese dispute the claims made by the opposing side (“Respondents”), noting that the disassociated diocese continues an “effort to have a differently comprised panel of this Court [the South Carolina Supreme Court] relitigate the trial and prior appeal of the case.” The brief further notes that “there is no legal basis or authority for this Court to ignore its previous decision and to reconsider this matter anew, just as there was no legal basis or authority for the Circuit Court to do so.” Now that the final briefs have been submitted, attorneys for both sides will await a final decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court, which likely will be preceded by a hearing. It is unknown as to the timing of the next steps in this case.
September 23, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court announced a hearing date of Wednesday, December 8, at 9:30 a.m. concerning the appeal filed by our diocese and The Episcopal Church in regard to the June 19,2020, order by Judge Edgar Dickson that is contrary to the Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017.
December 8, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court held a hearing on December 8, 2021, concerning the appeal filed by our diocese and The Episcopal Church in regard to the June 19,2020, order by Judge Edgar Dickson that essentially reinstated much of the lower court ruling that had been reversed by the high court in the Supreme Court decision from August 2017. As the appellants in this case, attorneys for the Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church side were asked to speak first and were given 25 minutes for the first argument, and another 10 minutes for a rebuttal after the respondents were given 25 minutes to speak to their positions. Over the course of the hearing, the justices asked many questions of both sides, covering a variety of questions before the Court, and time limits were extended. The entire hearing lasted approximately one hour and 30 minutes. Both sides now await the next ruling of the high court.
The American Revolution ends. Parishes in America that formerly were part of the Church of England under the authority of the Bishop of London are left without bishops or any church structure beyond the parish level.
1789
The Episcopal Church adopts a Constitution, and the Diocese of South Carolina is established.
1790
The Diocese of South Carolina adopts a Constitution, with the first sentence reading, “The Church in the Diocese of South Carolina accedes to the Constitution of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America,” the historical name for what is now called The Episcopal Church.
1872
The U.S. Supreme Court issues the first of several decisions upholding the hierarchical nature of The Episcopal Church.
2003-2006
Disagreements over issues related to human sexuality and other matters are the topic of debate among church leaders. In a few dioceses, leaders take steps to break away from The Episcopal Church. In South Carolina, resolutions are passed seeking to distance the diocese from decisions made at General Convention.
2006
South Carolina’s diocesan convention chooses Mark Lawrence as bishop-elect. His election does not receive consents from a majority of the Standing Committees of other dioceses across The Episcopal Church (a requirement of church canons), as concerns are raised about whether he intends to remain part of The Episcopal Church. A second election is held, and this time Mark Lawrence states his intent to “remain in The Episcopal Church.” As a result, a majority of other dioceses give their consent for him to become bishop of South Carolina.
October 2010
Bishop Lawrence presides over a diocesan convention where changes are made in the Constitution and Canons of the diocese to remove its accession to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.
October 2011
Bishop Lawrence, as president of the diocese’s nonprofit corporation, files amendments to the corporate charter deleting all references to The Episcopal Church and obedience to its Constitution and Canons.
November 2011
Bishop Lawrence and some diocesan bodies issue quitclaim deeds to every parish of the Diocese of South Carolina, in which the diocese disclaims any interest in the parishes’ properties.
October 2012
A Disciplinary Board of The Episcopal Church issues a “Certificate of Abandonment,” saying the actions taken by Bishop Lawrence in 2010-2011 constituted “abandonment of The Episcopal Church by an open renunciation of the Discipline of the Church.” The Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, notifies Bishop Lawrence that she has placed a restriction on his ministry, as required by TEC’s Canons, preventing him from engaging in ministerial acts until the House of Bishops can look into the allegations of abandonment and make a decision.
Two days later, an announcement is placed on the Diocese of South Carolina website stating that the leadership of the Diocese had put resolutions in place earlier that would become effective if any disciplinary action was taken by TEC regarding Bishop Lawrence. “As a result of TEC’s attack against our Bishop, the Diocese of South Carolina is disassociated from TEC, that is, its accession to the TEC Constitution and its membership in TEC have been withdrawn,” according to the announcement.
Two days after that, Bishop Lawrence announces to a meeting of all diocesan clergy that he and the diocese are “no longer associated with the Episcopal Church.”
November 17, 2012
Addressing a special meeting of parish leaders who support breaking away from TEC, Bishop Lawrence again announces that he and the diocese have “withdrawn” from The Episcopal Church.
December 2012
The Presiding Bishop announces she has accepted Bishop Lawrence’s renunciation of the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church on December 5, and declares him removed. Working in consultation with a steering committee of local Episcopalians, the Presiding Bishop calls a special Diocesan Convention for January, so a new bishop and standing committee can be elected for the continuing diocese.
January 2013
On January 4, a lawsuit is filed in South Carolina Circuit Court against The Episcopal Church by two corporations claiming to represent the Diocese of South Carolina and some of its parishes, seeking a declaratory judgment that they are the sole owners of the property, name and seal of the diocese. The complaint was later amended to include a total of 34 parishes.
On January 23, a judge issues a temporary restraining order preventing The Episcopal Church from using the name or symbols of the diocese. The court order later becomes a temporary injunction.
January 26, 2013
A special Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church, Charleston, with clergy and lay delegates representing the continuing Episcopal Church parishes and missions. To comply with the restraining order, the diocese adopts a temporary name, “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina,” so it can conduct business.
The Right Reverend Charles G. vonRosenberg is elected provisional bishop and immediately invested by the Presiding Bishop. (Provisional bishops have all the authority and duties of other bishops, but typically serve for a limited period of time while a diocese is in period of reorganization.) A new Standing Committee and Diocesan Council are elected.
February 2013
With the consent of all parties, the state court lawsuit filed by the breakaway group is amended on February 28 to add “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina” as a defendant.
March 2013
Bishop vonRosenberg files a complaint in U.S. District Court against Bishop Lawrence, citing violations of the Lanham Act, the primary federal trademark law of the United States, which prohibits trademark infringement and false advertising. The suit, vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, says that by representing himself as bishop of the diocese, Mark Lawrence is engaging in false advertising.
Later in March, TECSC files its response to the breakaways’ lawsuit, saying that Mark Lawrence and the faction that followed him out of The Episcopal Church have no authority over the assets or property of the diocese, and engaged in a plan to damage the diocese.
On March 8-9, the 222nd Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church, Charleston, with the diocese continuing to operate under the name “The Episcopal Church in South Carolina.” Delegates representing the parishes and missions that remain part of TEC officially adopt amendments returning the Constitution and Canons to their 2007 version, so that the diocese again accedes to the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. St. Mark’s, Port Royal, is officially admitted as a mission church of the diocese.
August 2013
After several attempts to contact and engage in conversations with clergy in the breakaway group, more than 100 clergy receive official “Notice of Removal” from Bishop vonRosenberg, removing them from the ordained ministry of The Episcopal Church. In hope of an eventual reconciliation, the Bishop exercises his right to “release and remove” the clergy, rather than “depose” them on grounds of abandonment. This action left open a path for them to return to the ordained ministry in the future.
December 2013
In a hearing, TECSC brings forth an affidavit from the Rev. Thomas M. Rickenbaker, a retired priest. Under oath, Fr. Rickenbaker said he was contacted in 2005 as a potential nominee to become Bishop of South Carolina and was asked by search committee members, "What can you do to help us leave The Episcopal Church and take our property with us?" The affidavit supports TECSC's claim that the "withdrawal" in 2012 was the result of a long-planned scheme by several individuals.
At the hearing, Judge Diane S. Goodstein denied a motion to have four individuals – Mark Lawrence; Paul Fuener as a Standing Committee president; Jim Lewis as Canon to the Ordinary of the diocese; and Jeffrey Miller as a Standing Committee president – added to the suit. TECSC said the four were necessary parties because the actions they took to “withdraw” were outside the scope of their legal authority and violated state law.
January 2014
TECSC files an appeal with the SC Court of Appeals seeking access to correspondence between attorney Alan Runyan and Mark Lawrence prior to the 2012 split, when he represented the then-unified diocese and was jointly representing parties on both sides of the case. Mr. Runyan went on to be the lead attorney for the breakaway group. The appeal effectively stayed the case, which was in the discovery phase with multiple depositions being taken on all sides. The appeal was later transferred to the SC Supreme Court.
February 2014
The 223rd Annual Diocesan Convention is held at All Saints, Hilton Head Island, with Bishop Michael Curry as the convention preacher. Five congregations are admitted as missions of the diocese. Further changes to the Constitution and Canons are approved to formally acknowledge the diocese as part of the wider church.
May 2014
The SC Supreme Court dismisses TECSC’s appeal over the disputed correspondence between Mr. Runyan and Mark Lawrence.
June 2014
TECSC files an appeal in the SC Court of Appeals seeking to overturn Judge Goodstein's ruling against adding individual parties to the case, asking that Mark Lawrence and three others be added as parties.
July 3, 2014
The appeal is dismissed and Judge Goodstein rules that the trial must begin on July 8.
July 8-25, 2014
A 14-day trial is held in the Dorchester County Courthouse in St. George, South Carolina before Judge Diane S. Goodstein. Find daily reports and trial transcripts here.
September 2014
The Reverend H. Dagnall Free Jr. is welcomed back into good standing as a priest in The Episcopal Church by Bishop vonRosenberg, having gone through a formal reconciliation process that was created in South Carolina in the hope that clergy who were “released and removed” in 2013 would choose to return to the church.
November 2014
The annual convention date having been moved to autumn, the 224th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Church of the Holy Communion in Charleston. Three more new congregations are formally admitted as mission churches, bringing the total number of churches “in union” with the convention to 30. Bishop James Tengatenga, Chairman of the Anglican Consultative Council and former Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Malawi in Africa, is the preacher at the Convention Eucharist.
January 28, 2015
Oral arguments are heard before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., in vonRosenberg v. Lawrence.
February 4, 2015
In the state court case, Judge Goodstein rules in favor of the breakaway group, giving the group the right to hold onto the name and property of the diocese. The ruling mirrors the language of the proposed order that was given to the judge by the plaintiffs after the trial concluded.
March 2015
TECSC and TEC appeal Judge Goodstein’s decision directly to the SC Supreme Court, seeking to bypass the SC Court of Appeals to avoid unnecessary expense and delay.
Also in March, Bishop vonRosenberg welcomes a second returning priest, the Rev. H. Jeff Wallace, back into good standing in The Episcopal Church through the reconciliation process created for priests who had been “released and removed” in 2013 following the split.
March 31, 2015
The US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit rules in favor of Bishop vonRosenberg, in the federal false-advertising lawsuit, sending vonRosenberg v. Lawrence back to the US District Court in Charleston for another hearing. The appeals court found that the lower court erred by applying the wrong legal standard in deciding to abstain from the case.
April 15, 2015
The SC Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of Judge Goodstein's decision. The court also denies the breakaway group's request for a greatly expedited schedule, and sets September 23 as the date for oral arguments. TECSC's initial brief is filed May 15.
June 2015
Seeking to end the bitter legal battle, TECSC proposes a settlement agreement to all the parties in the breakaway group, offering to let the disputed parishes keep their church properties whether or not they choose to remain part of TEC. In exchange, the proposal would require the breakaway group to return diocesan property, assets and identity to TECSC. Representatives of the breakaway diocesan group tell the media they have rejected the offer.
The parishes included in the settlement offer were:
All Saints, Florence
Christ Church, Mount Pleasant
Christ the King, Waccamaw
Christ-St. Paul’s, Yonges Island
Church of the Cross, Bluffton
Epiphany, Eutawville
Good Shepherd, Charleston
Holy Comforter, Sumter
Holy Cross, Stateburg
Holy Trinity, Charleston
Old St. Andrew’s, Charleston
Church of Our Saviour, John's Island
Prince George Winyah, Georgetown
Redeemer, Orangeburg
Resurrection, Surfside
St. Bartholomew's, Hartsville
St. David's, Cheraw
St. Helena's, Beaufort
St. James, James Island
St. John's, Florence
St. John's, John's Island
St. Jude's, Walterboro
St. Luke's, Hilton Head
St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston
St. Matthew's, Darlington
St. Matthew’s, Fort Motte
St. Matthias, Summerton
St. Michael's, Charleston
St. Paul's, Bennettsville
St. Paul's, Conway
St. Paul's, Summerville
St. Philip's, Charleston
Trinity, Edisto Island
Trinity, Pinopolis
Trinity, Myrtle Beach
June 23-July 3, 2015
TECSC sends Bishop vonRosenberg and elected lay and clergy Deputies and Alternate Deputies to the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the first deputation to attend since members of the 2012 South Carolina deputation walked out of the 77th General Convention in protest over issues of human sexuality. The 2015 South Carolina deputation is recognized with applause on the HOD floor, and participates fully in the activities of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies, including the election of Michael Curry as Presiding Bishop. Prayers and condolences are offered after the tragic shooting deaths of nine people at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, SC, on June 17, and the deputation participates in a march against gun violence in downtown Salt Lake City.
September 10, 2015
A special joint meeting of the Standing Committee, Diocesan Council and Trustees is held with Bishop vonRosenberg to discuss the long-term governance needs of the diocese. A blue-ribbon, ad-hoc committee, the Diocesan Future Committee, is formed to study various administrative models, and eventually to make a recommendation that can be brought to Diocesan Convention.
September 21 2015
U.S. District Judge C. Weston Houck issues a stay September 21 in the federal false-advertising lawsuit vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, again declining to hear the case until the final outcome of the state court case. That ruling has since been appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which has not yet ruled (as of March 24, 2016).
September 23, 2015
The SC Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Columbia on the appeal by TECSC and TEC seeking to overturn the state court decision. The Supreme Court’s decision has not yet been issued (as of September 16, 2016). View video of the hearing here.
November 13-14, 2015
The 225th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Holy Cross Faith Memorial Episcopal Church, Pawleys Island. Resolutions aimed at racial reconciliation are unanimously adopted. Grace Church is officially designated as the Cathedral of the Diocese (“Grace Church Cathedral”). St. Mark’s in Port Royal is officially recognized as a parish, having been admitted as a mission in March 2013. Bishop Robert Gillies of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church is the convention preacher.
January 14, 2016
Bishop vonRosenberg announces that he will retire as Provisional Bishop of TECSC after completing his calendar of episcopal visits in June 2016.
February 11, 2016
The Standing Committee of TECSC votes to move forward with a discernment and selection process to find a new Provisional Bishop to lead the diocese after Bishop vonRosenberg’s retirement. Meanwhile, the Diocesan Future Committee continues to meet and investigate administrative models so it can make a recommendation on the governance of the diocese.
April 2016
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry visits the diocese, preaching and celebrating at five Charleston Episcopal churches. On April 10 he was part of a celebration at Grace Church Cathedral where the Very Rev. Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, recognized Grace as the newest cathedral in the Anglican Communion and presented a stone from his cathedral carved with a Canterbury Cross, now affixed near the entrance of Grace.
June 30, 2016
The Standing Committee of TECSC announces the nomination of the Right Reverend Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III as the next Provisional Bishop for the diocese, calling him to South Carolina as he prepares to retire as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. (Read more here.) A Special Diocesan Convention is called for September 10 for delegates to gather and elect Bishop Adams. Bishop vonRosenberg remains in office until Bishop Adams can take office in September.
September 10, 2016
At a Special Diocesan Convention, the Right Reverend Gladstone B. “Skip” Adams III is elected by acclamation, and immediately invested and installed as the Provisional Bishop of the diocese. Read more here.
November 11-12, 2016
The 226th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at Grace Church Cathedral in Charleston. Read about the convention here.
August 2, 2017
The South Carolina Supreme Court issues a decision in the appeal heard in 2015. Read the decision here.
September 2017
TECSC announces that mediation will take place on all issues in both state and federal litigation at the request of U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel. Appointed as mediator was Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. of Columbia. TECSC officials noted that the mediation could only result in action if all parties agreed to it in writing.
October 4, 2017
Bishop Adams and members of the legal team for TECSC and The Episcopal Church attended a mediation planning session in Columbia with Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. and representatives of the breakaway group involved in federal and state litigation resulting from the 2012 division in the Diocese. They announced mediation would take place for an initial 3 days beginning November 6, 2017.
November 7, 2017
At 10:45 am on the second day of mediation, TECSC officials announced that mediation with the breakaway group and Senior U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Anderson Jr. was recessed until December 4-5, 2017.
November 10-11, 2017
The 227th Annual Diocesan Convention is held at All Saints Episcopal Church on Hilton Head Island. Read about the convention here.
November 17, 2017
Ruling in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied motions from a disassociated group and upheld itsAugust 2 decision that property and assets of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina, and most of its parishes, must remain with The Episcopal Church.
December 4, 2017
TECSC announced that mediation with Judge Anderson would be in recess until January 11-12, 2018 in Columbia.
January 12, 2018
A fourth day of mediation took place on January 12, 2018 and resulted in this statement by TECSC: "Although not resolved, the parties agreed to move forward with good faith mediation efforts to amicably resolve the case." No further mediation sessions were held.
February 9, 2018
The breakaway group files a petition for a writ of certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court asking for a review of the August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court.
April 17, 2018
A federal judge grants motions to expand a federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against the bishop of a group that left The Episcopal Church, adding as defendants the breakaway organization and parishes that followed Bishop Mark Lawrence in separating from The Episcopal Church.
April 26, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina introduces its new Diocesan Vision Statement, drawing inspiration from historic symbols of our diocese.
May 2, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina publishes a "Frequently Asked Questions" document to provide information and share hope for a future that remains grounded in the love of God.
May 7, 2018
The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) file their response to the petition for certiorari in the U.S. Supreme Court, saying the petition does not present any reviewable questions of federal law, and should be denied.
May 8, 2018
The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) petition the 1st Circuit Court of Common Pleas to execute the state Supreme Court's decision and return church properties to the Episcopal Church.
June 11, 2018
The U.S. Supreme Court denies a petition for a writ of certiorari, letting stand the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision of August 2017 regarding church property.
July 13, 2018
Canterbury Cathedral, the Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, commemorates the 90th anniversary of the martyrdom of William Alexander Guerry, 8th Bishop of South Carolina, at its daily Choral Evensong, with clergy and members of Grace Church Cathedral participating in the service. Guerry is remembered in Canterbury’s Chapel of the Saints and Martyrs of Our Time.
July 16-18, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina hosts three Open Conversations in Conway, Bluffton and Charleston, bringing together hundreds of Episcopalians and Anglicans to talk about reconciliation in the diocese and the churches of eastern South Carolina.
July 26, 2018
1st Judicial Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson holds a scheduling conference in Orangeburg with attorneys to begin setting a timetable for resolving how to implement the transfer of diocesan and parish property back to The Episcopal Church under the August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court. The judge asks both sides to prepare a list of issues to be resolved. The lists were submitted August 2.
August 20, 2018
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel sets March 1, 2019 as the target date for a trial in the federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church.
September 25, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina announces that representatives of the 29 returning congregations are being invited to the 228th Diocesan Convention November 16-17, 2018 in Charleston. Each returning congregation is invited to send two representatives to this annual business meeting of the diocese.
September 26, 2018
Continuing the Open Conversation series that began in July, TECSC announces a Facebook Live Open Conversation on October 11, 2018 from 6:30-7:45 p.m. so Bishop Skip Adams and four other diocesan leaders can answer questions and hear ideas from people in Episcopal/Anglican churches in eastern South Carolina.
October 11, 2018
A Live Open Conversation is held via video on Facebook to answer questions and hear ideas. You can view the entire video on Facebook, or on YouTube.
November 19, 2018
After an 85-minute hearing in Orangeburg, 1st Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson told attorneys he will have more questions for them as he prepares to decide how to implement the South Carolina Supreme Court's decision on church property matters. The judge heard only one of the five motions currently before the court in the 85-minute hearing, listening as both sides addressed a “Motion for Clarification” filed by the plaintiffs, the group that left The Episcopal Church.
December 7, 2018
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) and The Episcopal Church ask the U.S. District Court to grant motions for summary judgment and call a halt to the “pervasive” public confusion caused by a group that broke away from the church, yet continues to use Episcopal names and marks.
February 13, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel sets May 1 as the earliest date when a trial could begin in the federal false-advertising and trademark infringement lawsuit against a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church. The order represents a two-month extension from the previous schedule the judge set in August, which had called for a trial "on or after" March 1.
March 20, 2019
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church file a petition for Writ of Mandamus, asking the South Carolina Supreme Court to order the Dorchester County Circuit Court to enforce the high court’s 2017 decision and return control of diocesan property and 29 parish properties to The Episcopal Church and its local diocese, TECSC.
June 28, 2019
Saying it is “confident” that the 1st Circuit Court will act "in an expeditious manner" to resolve the case, the South Carolina Supreme Court denies the Petition for Writ of Mandamus from The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church, which had asked the court to order enforcement of the 2017 decision to return control of diocesan property and 29 parish properties to The Episcopal Church and TECSC.
July 2, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson schedules a hearing for Thursday, July 25 at 9:30 am concerning a lawsuit known as the Betterments Act case that was filed against The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church by the breakaway group. The hearing is set to take place at the Calhoun County Courthouse in St. Matthews, in the First Judicial Circuit. (The hearing date is later moved to July 23 at 10:30 am.)
July 23, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar W. Dickson orders all parties to enter into mediation in the dispute over implementation of the 2017 South Carolina Supreme Court decision. The action follows a hearing at the Calhoun County Courthouse in St. Matthews.
August 28, 2019
Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson indicates he will deny the motion filed by TECSC to dismiss the Betterments filed by the breakaway group.
September 9, 2019
On Monday, September 9, South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson filed the order denying TECSC’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the breakaway group under the state’s Betterments Act, as had been announced nearly two weeks ago. As was previously reported, the judge has made no ruling on the actual case and it is expected to be part of the court-ordered mediation.
September 19, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel ruled in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina and The Episcopal Church today on the trademark infringement and false advertising lawsuit filed in 2013. Saying that “The time has come for this dispute to be resolved,” Judge Gergel granted the plaintiff’s (the Bishop of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina(TECSC)) motion for summary judgement, and declared that the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church (TEC) in 2012 (and all affiliated churches) can no longer use the name “Diocese of South Carolina” nor use the “diocesan seal” or “Episcopal shield.”
September 26, 2019
Representatives for The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), also known as The Diocese of South Carolina, and The Episcopal Church met with representatives of the disassociated diocese for mediation. Following the session, the following statement was released: “On July 23, 2019, Judge Dickson ordered the parties to mediate. On September 26, 2019, the parties mediated for a full day and ultimately the mediator declared an impasse.”
October 4, 2019
The Diocese of South Carolina requested a hearing from Circuit Judge Edgar Dickson on the Enforcement Petition filed in May 2018. A second request was made on October 22, 2019.
October 28, 2019
Circuit Judge Edgar Dickson sent notice of a hearing on Tuesday, November 26 at 10 am at the Orangeburg County Courthouse in Orangeburg, SC, to hear the matters before the court on remittitur following the final decision and judgement of the South Carolina Supreme Court on August 2, 2017.
November 11, 2019
The Diocese of South Carolina filed a petition in federal court late yesterday requesting enforcement of the Court’s Order and Opinion and Permanent Injunction issued on September 19, 2019.
November 26, 2019
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson heard arguments on both sides for a variety of motions currently before his court relating to the South Carolina Supreme Court majority decision in favor of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (also known as The Diocese of South Carolina) on August 2, 2017.
December 18, 2019
U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion on Wednesday, December 18, granting in part the Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by The Diocese of South Carolina (The Episcopal Church in South Carolina) on November 11. Furthermore, Judge Gergel’s order denied the Motion to Stay the injunction filed by the disassociated diocese.
December 23-30, 2019
Attorneys for the disassociated diocese, as defendants-appellants in the federal trademark infringement and false advertising case brought by The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC), filed a Motion to Stay the Injunction and Stay the Case with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The motion sought to temporarily set aside the permanent injunction enacted by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel in favor of TECSC on September 19 until the appeal has been considered by the court, but also asks the court to stay the case until a ruling is made on a case TECSC attorneys maintain is unrelated. In response, on Monday, December 30, 2019, attorneys for TECSC (now also known as the Diocese of South Carolina) and The Episcopal Church filed a Response in Opposition to Appellants’ Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case.
January 14, 2020
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied the Motion to Stay Injunction and to Stay the Case filed in December by the disassociated diocese.
February 21, 2020
The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC, also known as the (Episcopal) Diocese of South Carolina) filed a Petition for a Writ of Prohibition with the South Carolina Supreme Court to bar South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar W. Dickson from re-litigating issues already decided by the South Carolina Supreme Court’s majority decision in favor of TECSC on August 2, 2017.
March 31, 2020
On Tuesday, March 31, the South Carolina Supreme Court denied the Diocese's petition for a Writ of Prohibition.
June 19, 2020
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson, tasked in November 2017 by the South Carolina Supreme Court (SCSC) with a remittitur to enforce the final judgment of the SCSC which ruled in August 2017 that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church, issued an Order that seems to be contrary to that decision. His order indicates that the historic Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina has no interest in the properties of the breakaway congregations that left the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church.
June 29, 2020
Attorneys for the Diocese and The Episcopal Church filed a Motion for Reconsideration and to Alter or Amend in the Court of Common Pleas for the First Judicial Circuit in response to the Order issued by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson that seemed to overturn the South Carolina Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017 which ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church. This judgement marked a reversal of the lower court decision.
July 14, 2020
South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson denied the Motion to Reconsider filed by our Diocese. In response to yesterday’s order, lawyers for our Diocese immediately filed a Notice of Appeal, and a request for certification of the Stay of the matter until the Appeal is decided by the appellate court.
October 27, 2020
On Tuesday, October 27, U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel issued an Order and Opinion granting in part the Second Motion to Enforce the Injunction filed by the Diocese of South Carolina on September 10 of this year, in which the historic diocese and The Episcopal Church alleged 27 violations of the Court’s previous order, including using use of the mark “Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of South Carolina” to apply for and obtain a federal loan from the Small Business Administration. Judge Gergel found that this usage did violate the Court’s order and that the “Defendants continue to attempt to claim the goodwill and history of the TECSC’s organization.” The disassociated diocese admitted to and corrected 25 of the violations, involving the usage of “Diocese of South Carolina” or “Diocese of SC”; “1785”; “14th Bishop” or “XIV Bishop”; and the “Diocesan Shield” or the “Episcopal Shield” on the disassociated diocese’s website and those of member congregations.
October 29, 2020
The Fourth Circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals granted the motion by the disassociated diocese for a stay of its appeal (of Judge Gergel's September 19, 2019 Order which declared that the group that disassociated from The Episcopal Church (TEC) in 2012 (and all affiliated churches) can no longer use the name “Diocese of South Carolina” nor use the “diocesan seal” or “Episcopal shield”) pending the next decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court in the state case involving property.
November 12, 2020
On Thursday, November 12, attorneys for The Diocese of South Carolina (also known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina) and The Episcopal Church filed an Initial Brief of Appellants with the South Carolina Supreme Court (filed along with this associated Designation of Matter). The brief was filed in response to the June 19, 2020 Order by South Carolina Circuit Court Judge Edgar Dickson that seemingly overturned the Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017 which ruled that the diocesan property and 29 parishes should be returned to the parties affiliated with The Episcopal Church.
March 4, 2021
On Thursday, March 4, attorneys for the Diocese of South Carolina (also known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC)) and The Episcopal Church filed an Initial Reply Brief of Appellants with the South Carolina Supreme Court in response to the brief filed by the opposing side on February 12, 2021, which was filed as a reply to the diocese’s Initial Brief of Appellants filed November 12, 2020. In the March 4 brief, the national church and the historic diocese dispute the claims made by the opposing side (“Respondents”), noting that the disassociated diocese continues an “effort to have a differently comprised panel of this Court [the South Carolina Supreme Court] relitigate the trial and prior appeal of the case.” The brief further notes that “there is no legal basis or authority for this Court to ignore its previous decision and to reconsider this matter anew, just as there was no legal basis or authority for the Circuit Court to do so.” Now that the final briefs have been submitted, attorneys for both sides will await a final decision from the South Carolina Supreme Court, which likely will be preceded by a hearing. It is unknown as to the timing of the next steps in this case.
September 23, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court announced a hearing date of Wednesday, December 8, at 9:30 a.m. concerning the appeal filed by our diocese and The Episcopal Church in regard to the June 19,2020, order by Judge Edgar Dickson that is contrary to the Supreme Court final judgement from August 2017.
December 8, 2021
The South Carolina Supreme Court held a hearing on December 8, 2021, concerning the appeal filed by our diocese and The Episcopal Church in regard to the June 19,2020, order by Judge Edgar Dickson that essentially reinstated much of the lower court ruling that had been reversed by the high court in the Supreme Court decision from August 2017. As the appellants in this case, attorneys for the Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church side were asked to speak first and were given 25 minutes for the first argument, and another 10 minutes for a rebuttal after the respondents were given 25 minutes to speak to their positions. Over the course of the hearing, the justices asked many questions of both sides, covering a variety of questions before the Court, and time limits were extended. The entire hearing lasted approximately one hour and 30 minutes. Both sides now await the next ruling of the high court.
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P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - 843.259.2016 - [email protected]
P.O. Box 20485, Charleston, SC 29413 - 843.259.2016 - [email protected]