Recognition of gay clergy among issues that led to split
FORT WORTH, Texas — The Episcopal Church has filed a lawsuit seeking to regain control of church property from the breakaway Diocese of Fort Worth.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday, April 14 in Tarrant County district court. The list of defendants includes Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker, who led the conservative movement to split from the national church over issues including gay clergy and women in the priesthood.
The Iker-led group voted last year to join a more conservative province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
The Episcopal Church maintains that its rules prohibit dioceses from breaking away and that church properties are held in trust for the denomination.
Iker wrote in an e-mail to The Dallas Morning News late Tuesday that the move was expected.