Judge extends deadline at Maryland parish

Christian Century, Nov 21, 2001

At the request of Episcopal Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon of Washington, D.C., a federal judge has given conservative rector Samuel L. Edwards a 22-day extension of an order to vacate the rectory of Christ Church and St. John's Parish in Accokeek, Maryland. Edwards and his family now have until November 30 to comply, according to Episcopal News Service.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte amended his order of October 29, which directed Edwards to leave within ten days, so that Edwards and the parish's vestry will have time for an appeal to be heard by the Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia.

Unchanged in the ruling is the order to Edwards and the vestry to "take no actions, directly or indirectly," to hinder Dixon "or her delegate" in officiating at services and presiding at meetings of the vestry and parish. The judge also prohibited Edwards from officiating "on or near" the grounds of the church and from taking any action in the capacity of rector of the parish. Messitteg ruling upheld Dixon's fight not to confirm Edwards's hiring as rector by the parish's vestry in December 2000.

When Edwards and the vestry refused to recognize Dixon's canonical authority, even blocking her entry to the parish and threatening her in May with arrest on trespassing charges, Dixon filed suit seeking the court's help in enforcing her decision. In the suit, Dixon contended that Edwards's hiring violated the 1798 Maryland Vestry Act, requiring that the appointment of rectors be subject to the canon law of the Episcopal Church. The suit also asserted that "all parish property is held in trust for the Episcopal Church and the diocese," while the vestry claimed it holds the deed in direct ownership with an unrestricted right to the property.