ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The Chief Administrative Judge of the 1st Judicial Circuit, Judge Edgar W. Dickson, met today 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 an August 2017 decision by the South Carolina Supreme Court. After a 32-minute scheduling conference…

The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC) have petitioned the 1st Circuit Court of Common Pleas to order a full accounting of all assets held by a group that broke away from the church in 2012. The petition, filed July 10 with the Court of Common Pleas in the 1st Judicial…

Bishop Skip Adams and about 75 leaders of The Episcopal Church in South Carolina gathered on Tuesday for a time of prayer, gratitude, questions, and hope for a future of healing and reconciliation on the day after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the South Carolina Supreme Court decision on church properties is final. The Bishop…

CHARLESTON, S.C. (JUNE 11, 2018) —  The United States Supreme Court today denied a petition from a breakaway group, letting stand the decision of the South Carolina Supreme Court to return control of the Diocese of South Carolina and 28 church properties to The Episcopal Church and its recognized diocese, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina (TECSC). The…

A reply has been filed with the United States Supreme Court, marking the final legal step before the justices meet to decide whether to grant a hearing on the South Carolina Supreme Court decision involving our diocese. The reply brief was filed today with the U.S. Supreme Court by attorneys representing the breakaway group and parishes affected by the August 2017…

U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Gergel has granted 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. The 12-page order and opinion in the case…

Updated March 27, 2018 to note that the requested extension has been granted. The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina have been granted an extension of the deadline to respond to a petition filed with the U.S. Supreme Court regarding the South Carolina Supreme Court’s decision in volving our diocese. The request (found here) asked to have…

The Episcopal Church, The Episcopal Church in South Carolina, and its Bishop today asked a federal judge to expand a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in hopes of bringing clarity to the confusion caused when a group led by Bishop Mark Lawrence broke away from The Episcopal Church in 2012-13. The legal action filed with…

The U.S. Supreme Court has taken initial steps in deciding whether to hear a breakaway group’s petition on issues regarding our diocese and The Episcopal Church. On Tuesday, February 27, the court requested that The Episcopal Church and The Episcopal Church in South Carolina file a response to the petition for writ of certiorari (sometimes called…

CHARLESTON – U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel has lifted a stay in a lawsuit over false-advertising and related claims against the bishop of a breakaway group that left The Episcopal Church in 2012, issuing a scheduling order for the trial to begin on or after September 1. The case, known as vonRosenberg v. Lawrence, had…

A petition for writ of certiorari was filed on Friday afternoon, February 9 in the United States Supreme Court in connection with the South Carolina Supreme Court decision involving our diocese and The Episcopal Church.​The filings can be viewed here:Petititon for Writ of CertiorariCert Petition AppendixRule 12.6 Letter