Anglican parish in property dispute
A question of who owns the church building goes before a Duval County judge.
By JEFF BRUMLEY, The Times-Union

An Anglican parish striving to retain its Jacksonville property cannot argue theology in a lawsuit filed against it by Bishop John Howard, attorneys for the Episcopal Diocese of Florida argued in court Wednesday.

Lawyers for Redeemer Anglican Church countered that Howard's lawsuit itself is steeped in religious arguments, and therefore should be dismissed or allowed to proceed with the parish's theology-based defense.

The hearing before Circuit Judge Karen Cole was the latest round in the lawsuit filed by the Jacksonville diocese in March.

Redeemer is one of several North Florida congregations to quit the diocese because its denomination, the Episcopal Church USA, elected an openly gay bishop in 2003 and permitted the blessing of same-sex unions. the rest