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.The Dennis Canon is named after Walter Dennis, an attorney and later Suffragan Bishop of New York, who drafted the Canon.
[3] In 1979, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Jones v. Wolf that the "neutral principles of law" approach to deciding property disputes between factions of a church offered advantages versus other means (which may have required involvement in matters of purely religious affairs, an exercise which was prohibited by the First Amendment): The primary advantages of the neutral principles approach are that it is completely secular in operation, and yet flexible enough to accommodate all forms of religious organization and polity.
The method relies exclusively on objective, well established concepts of trust and property law familiar to lawyers and judges.
In this manner, a religious organization can ensure that a dispute over the ownership of church property will be resolved in accord with the desires of the members.The Supreme Court went on to state (in response to the dissent): The neutral principles approach cannot be said to "inhibit" the free exercise of religion, any more than do other neutral provisions of state law governing the manner in which churches own property, hire employees, or purchase goods.
They can modify the deeds or the corporate charter to include a right of reversion or trust in favor of the general church.
Because of these disputes, parishes and five entire dioceses have made attempts to sever ties with the rest of the Episcopal Church.
Those groups that have left maintain that most of these properties and assets were established long before the Dennis Canon by loyal Episcopalians that would not recognize the theological innovations of the modern Episcopal Church.
[9] Following "neutral principles of law," the state Supreme Court held that, since the parish existed before the formation of either the diocese or the Episcopal Church, and in light of an earlier quitclaim deed, the Dennis Canon did not apply.
In April 2022, the South Carolina Supreme Court seemingly ended the legal battle when it held that the fourteen of 29 congregations that split from the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina which did not explicitly concede to the Dennis Canon were required to give their properties back to the Episcopal Diocese.