The congregation at St. Alban’s church on King Edward Avenue is fighting to keep its building after leaving the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.
The parish of St. Alban the Martyr is fighting to keep its church building after its decision to leave the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.
“We believe there is no canonical, legal, spiritual, and moral reason why this congregation shouldn’t remain in the building,” said Rev. George Sinclair, pastor of St. Alban’s. “We are committed to working in an amicable way, and we hope it will be an amicable solution.”
Last month, the parish voted 77 to one in favour of leaving the diocese and to join the Anglican Network in Canada, a national body of conservative Anglicans that has moved away from the Anglican Church of Canada.
The congregation’s decision to vote was based on its disapproval over the Anglican Church of Canada’s increased liberal ideologies, such as same-sex blessings and interpretations of the Bible.
In a recent statement, the head of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop Fred Hiltz, said “individuals who choose to leave the church over contentious issues cannot take property or other assets with them.”
Ross Moulton, executive archdeacon to Bishop John Chapman of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa, said the break has brought sadness and sorrow to the Anglican community.
Moulton said it’s too early to tell whether St. Alban’s will be able to keep its church building.
“The building is the property of the Anglican diocese and is held in trust for the bishop and the diocese by the parish,” said Moulton.
“Property issues will have to be resolved, but in terms of legal ownership in the Anglican Church, individual properties of parishes are normally vested in the diocese. We just don’t know how that’s going to play out yet.”
The building, located at 454 King Edward Avenue, has been around since 1867 and is the oldest standing Anglican building in Ottawa.
Ann Wilson, who has attended St. Alban’s for 30 years, said it would be heartbreaking to see the congregation leave such a structure.
“Because I have been to the church for so many years, it means so much to me,” said Wilson. “I would be very sad about losing the building.”
At the beginning of March, two congregations that decided to leave the Anglican Diocese of Niagara were granted temporary permission to keep their properties. All parties are scheduled to return to court later this month to determine long-term arrangements.
Brian De Visser, who left St. Alban’s last January to become the pastor of the breakaway Anglican church, The Kanata Lakes Fellowship, said there is no precedent for this type of battle. However, he said he thinks the situation in Niagara will influence what happens at St. Alban’s.
“I can’t imagine that the bishop in Ottawa isn’t watching what is going on there and seeing how that plays out,” said De Visser. “I think that might have some impact on how much trouble St. Alban’s does or does not have with the diocese.”
But Moulton said the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa is adamant about the wish to settle this property dispute in the most cordial manner possible.
“I think it is everybody’s hope that some amicable arrangement could be made,” said Moulton. “To get into long court battles, it consumes a lot of resources, time, and money. And at the end of the day, nobody wins.”