A judge has granted in part a temporary restraining order request from a chaplains group seeking to cut ties with the Anglican Church in North America.
The Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy recently filed a complaint against ACNA over the Anglican denomination’s refusal to allow the ministry to disaffiliate.
United States District Judge Bruce Hendricks of the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division issued an order last week partly granting JAFC’s request for a temporary restraining order.
According to Hendricks, while the court “does not intend to entangle itself into an internal canonical dispute over the Anglican Church’s ecclesiastical structure,” some issues raised by JAFC “may be ripe and appropriate for the Court’s consideration, such as Plaintiff’s trademark claims.”
“After hearing arguments from the parties, counsel for Defendant effectively conceded that Defendant would refrain from using Plaintiff’s service mark ‘Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces and Chaplaincy,’ Plaintiff’s trademark, ‘Anglican Chaplains,’ and Plaintiff’s trademarked logo,” wrote Hendricks.
“Additionally, after review of the evidence of record and the applicable law, the Court finds that Plaintiff has met its burden … as to these three items, and the Court thus grants Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction as to those three items.”
However, regarding other issues, like the alleged slander of JAFC Bishop Derek Jones, the court ruled against the chaplain group, with Hendricks writing that “very little about this case is clear.”
“Furthermore, as noted on several occasions during the hearing, the record abounds in material factual disputes, and the Court does not find it appropriate to resolve those factual disputes at this time and based on the current record,” he wrote.
“Lastly, as to Plaintiff’s request that the Court restrain Defendant from slandering Plaintiff or Bishop Jones, the Court simply notes that law already exists to prevent slander.”
In September, JAFC Chairman David van Esselstyn sent a letter to ACNA Archbishop Steven Wood stating that they were terminating their affiliation with the denomination.
A JAFC spokesperson provided information to The Christian Post explaining that it had to do with the alleged mistreatment of Jones. JAFC claims that he was the victim of “a targeted attack” by Wood, allegedly because Jones had “been critical of errors, missteps, and mismanagement within the Archbishop’s office.”
Wood said in a letter published in September that the situation began in the summer, when ACNA leadership “received credible complaints regarding Bishop Derek Jones, alleging abuse of ecclesiastical power.”
“These complaints did not involve physical or sexual misconduct, nor did they involve any doctrinal concerns,” Wood wrote at the time. “Nevertheless, they were concerning because abuse of ecclesiastical power violates the trust that is essential for effective ministry.”
Both sides dispute the extent to which Jones cooperated with the investigation and whether his eventual refusal to continue cooperating was justified in accordance with church law.
Although JAFC stated that they had cut ties with ACNA, the Anglican denomination had refused to recognize the disaffiliation and instead appointed new leadership for the ministry body.
Last month, JAFC filed a complaint in district court against ACNA, accusing the denomination of enacting “a failed corporate takeover” of JAFC when it tried “to suspend Plaintiff’s corporate president” and assume their responsibilities.
“ACNA also published reports accessible to all of the hundreds of chaplains endorsed by Plaintiff, using Plaintiff’s registered marks while deprecating Plaintiff and falsely claiming that it had assumed Plaintiff’s power to endorse Anglicans for chaplaincy services,” the complaint alleged.
“ACNA’s misrepresentations and use of Plaintiff’s marks have induced approximately half of Plaintiff’s chaplains, and at least two-thirds of Plaintiff’s affiliated missions, chapels and parishes, to end their affiliation with Plaintiff.”
