CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a congregation that left the Episcopal Church and battled over land and assets with the state Episcopal diocese.
The Post and Courier of Charleston reported Tuesday that the state's high court ruled that All Saints Church at Pawleys Island did not belong to the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. The congregation left the diocese in 2004.
The diocese had argued that the parish operates under a 1902 charter in which the congregation agreed to abide by the laws of the Episcopal denomination and diocese.
Church leaders were divided on how the ruling might influence other Episcopal land disputes around the nation. The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina is comprised of more than 70 parishes.
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