Parishioners at Saint Mary's Anglican Church in Nanoose are relieved the B.C. Supreme Court ruled against Anglican dissidents who claimed they deserved to have control of four Vancouver churches.

The decision may be precedent-setting, which would make it difficult for the roughly 100 people who broke away from Saint Mary's in February to take possession of their former church.

Saint Mary's was reduced to just 14 people when the majority of parishioners, led by Rev. Guy Bellerby, split from the diocese and formed Christ's Church Oceanside. The breakaway group is among several across Canada that have left the Anglican diocese and joined the Anglican Network in Canada, which opposes same-sex marriage. Issues of same-sex blessings and how to interpret the Bible have led to a decades-long division in the worldwide Anglican communion.

While members of Saint Mary's are breathing a sigh of "humble relief," members of Christ's Church Oceanside hope to find a permanent place to worship.

"There's no sense of great, ostentatious celebration today. I think there's a quiet and humble thanksgiving," said Saint Mary's Rev. Ron Macluskie.

Wednesday's court decision stemmed from four breakway Anglican churches in Vancouver that argued they are not "departing" from the larger worldwide Anglican denomination and were the proper owners of the physical churches.

Macluskie said that considering the Vancouver case would likely be precedent-setting, members of his congregation, which has grown to about 50 people, were anxious about the result.

"We all had our thoughts. We wondered how it was going to work out and at this point it worked out favourably," he said, adding the mortgage on the building was paid off last month.

Macluskie said about eight people have returned to Saint Mary's from Christ's Church Oceanside, and the balance of parishioners are new.

"A lot of folks come in just wanting to see the church and that develops into a friendship," he said.

Bellerby said parish leaders at Christ's Church Oceanside have not made any decision regarding whether it will take some type of legal action to obtain the Saint Mary's church.

"In view of the judgment, it seems less likely that a court action would result in an action favourable to Christ's Church Oceanside," he said, adding costs make such a lawsuit prohibitive regardless of Wednesday's decision.

The church rents space at the Nanoose Place Community Centre for Sunday service.

"We obviously would like one day to be able to worship together in a building set apart for Christian worship exclusively. However, we are not in that position right now," said Bellerby, adding parishioners are "very comfortable" at the moment.

DWalker@nanaimodailynews.com

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