Dennis Canon
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The Dennis Canon is a common (though unofficial and unfavored) name used for Title I.7.4 (as presently numbered) of the Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
The Canon states:
| “ | All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any Parish, Mission, or Congregation is held in trust for this Church [i.e., the Episcopal Church in the United States] and the Diocese thereof in which such Parish, Mission or Congregation is located. The existence of this trust, however, shall in no way limit the power and authority of the Parish, Mission or Congregation otherwise existing over such property so long as the particular Parish, Mission or Congregation remains a part of, and subject to, this Church and its Constitution and Canons. | ” |
[edit] History and Purpose
The Dennis Canon is named after the attorney and later Suffragan Bishop of New York Walter Dennis, who drafted it [1]. It was passed by the 66th General Convention in 1979, having been introduced by the Committee on Canons of the House of Bishops as D-024 of that Convention [2].
The Dennis Canon codifies the existing trust relationship the Episcopal Church has long had regarding property held by its parishes. The parishes, through their vestries, are trustees of the property for the benefit of their local dioceses and the national Episcopal Church.
A vestry therefore breaches its fiduciary trust if it purports to transfer property to another ecclesiastical jurisdiction, such as a Continuing Anglican church. Adoption of the Dennis Canon followed the turbulent 1960s and 1970s, when groups of individuals had left the Episcopal Church while attempting to remove the parish property for reasons including the admission of women to Holy Orders, the adoption of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, and the belief that some bishops held heretical views [3]
[edit] Litigation Involving the Dennis Canon
In recent years, the Episcopal Church has been embroiled in a variety of theological disputes concerning its doctrine, discipline, and worship. Because of these disputes, groups of individuals, often supported by para-church organizations, have wished to leave the Episcopal Church bringing with them the property and assets owned by their congregations. State and federal appellate courts, however, have overwhelmingly recognized the legitimacy and applicability of the Dennis Canon and the existence of a trust relationship on behalf of the Episcopal Church.
