Two Northern Virginia congregations have taken a landmark vote to break away from the US Episcopal Church and join fellow Anglican conservatives in forming a rival US denomination.
The large and historic Episcopal congregations of The Falls Church in Falls Church and Truro Church in Fairfax City voted overwhelmingly in favour of a split - more than 90 per cent - and to retain their church property, reports The Washington Post.
They now plan to join the Convocation for Anglicans in North America (CANA), led by the last rector of Truro, the Rev Martyn Minns, and formally under Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola of Nigeria.
The results of the weeklong votes were announced yesterday by church leaders after the Sunday worship services.
The churches have been at odds with the US Episcopal Church since the installation of the openly gay Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire in 2003.
According to The Washington Post, Bishop Peter James Lee of the Diocese of Virginia has warned Truro and The Falls Church that they could face a legal war over their property should they try to keep it - the churches are worth at least $25 million in real estate, according to public records.
Bishop Lee is due to meet with other diocesan leaders tomorrow to discuss possible negotiations with the breakaway congregations but he indicated in an interview last week that it will not be easy for the churches in question to keep hold of their property.
"Episcopalians built those churches. Episcopalians are buried in their church yards. One generation of church leaders cannot walk away with property that's not theirs," he said.
Bishop Lee said in a statement Sunday that "today is indeed a sad day for the church and for many in the church".
