Church, defectors fight over building in Savannah

The bookshelves in the Rev. Marc Robertson's office are empty. Actually, most of the rooms inside Christ Church in Savannah are quite bare, suggesting the oldest church in Georgia may be moving.

Maybe, indeed, though part of that congregation would argue it already has moved. After breaking away from the Episcopal Church in 2007, Christ Church has battled with the Diocese of Georgia over who has the right to worship in the large-columned building in downtown Savannah.

Both the Chatham County Superior Court and Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that the Episcopal Church - like all hierarchical churches - hold the rights to the real estate of all its parishes.

But Christ Church members believe that because they formed the church before the Episcopal Church existed, they are in their proper home.

Now they hope the state Supreme Court will decide who gets the keys. And they believe that decision could affect a lot more than one congregation.

"A lot of this is an issue that is much bigger than we are," said Robertson, who preached at the church long before it turned in its Episcopal affiliation. "We believe we have an opportunity to get a lot of churches to ask a lot of questions."

Just who owns a church really depends on the denomination. Georgia law recognizes two types of churches: Hierarchical congregations like Catholics, United Methodists, Mormons and Episcopalians, and congregational, which many Baptist churches fall under.

Hierarchical churches are set up where the national church and its dioceses have a central control over all its parishes. Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Prince Avenue is no exception.

"The way Episcopal churches are set up is that the diocese holds the deed," said Frank Logue, a canon of the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia.

It's been that way in writing since 1979, when the Episcopal Church voted to hold all its parishes in trust.

When the Christ Church vestry and congregation voted in 2007 to change from Episcopal to Anglican, they had a choice to make, Robertson said.

"We could've put the keys on the table and left," he said. "But we chose to leave the church, keep the building and expect a legal battle."

That's just what the congregation of several hundred has gotten. The part of the congregation that voted to stay Episcopal left Christ Church and worshiped at another parish.

Those members have just as much a right to the building as the defectors, Logue said. That's why the Episcopal Church and the remaining Episcopal congregation sued to get the building back.

So far, the courts have ruled in their favor.

"Georgia property law is very well settled in this area," said Mills Fleming, the senior warden of Christ Church Episcopal and a practicing attorney. "This is a real estate issue, not a theological argument."

Court records show Christ Church was founded in 1733 as a constituent of the Church of England. That affiliation with the English church dis

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