Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley Reaches Out to Leadership on the Other Side of Court Ruling

​On Thursday, April 21, the day after the South Carolina Supreme Court handed down their latest ruling, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley reached out to the leader on the other side of the dispute, the Rt. Rev. Chip Edgar, to engage in conversation about how our dioceses can move forward for the benefit of the people of South Carolina. Both bishops have expressed a desire to move forward in a way that is different than what may have occurred in the past. “We really have an appetite to move into a new season marked by a different tone and tenor between our two communities, focused on the Gospel of Jesus and helping the people of this state,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley.
 
Both bishops are relative newcomers to the dispute that has lasted nearly a decade. Bishop Woodliff-Stanley took the helm of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina with her ordination in October 2021, and Bishop Edgar was ordained in March of this year as the second bishop of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina, which is aligned with ACNA, the Anglican Church of North America.
 
The Court’s decision will return 14 parishes to the historic diocese that left The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in 2012, along with all diocesan property, while 15 breakaway churches will remain with the new ACNA diocese. The justices of the state’s highest court found that the 14 parishes did create a trust in favor of The Episcopal Church and its diocese, while the other 15 churches did not. Additionally, the Court found that all real and personal property held in trust by the Trustees of the diocese belong to the “Associated Diocese” – the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. These properties would include St. Christopher Camp & Conference Center on Seabrook Island. While the immediate next steps in the process are not yet clear, the two bishops hope that their prompt meeting will set a new tone for the relationship between the two dioceses moving forward.
 
For her part, Bishop Ruth Woodliff-Stanley says her focus is the same, regardless of this legal decision. “We remain focused on where God is calling us to be and this includes reconciliation across all sorts of divides; the important work of justice – primarily race justice, LGBTQ justice, and economic justice; and building the church of the future,” said Bishop Woodliff-Stanley. “Regardless of property issues, our vision and our common mission as a diocese will continue – the Gospel is bigger than all of the controversy and we will continue forward on the mission God is calling us to lead.”
 
The two bishops met with a reporter from the Charleston-based Post & Courier on Friday, April 22, and the publication shared an article at this link.

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