The Diocese of Quincy has asked the circuit court of Illinois in Quincy to issue a declaratory judgment, clarifying the rights of the diocese to hold and manage its endowment funds now that it is no longer part of The Episcopal Church.

"We hoped from the beginning to avoid any legal action," said the Rev. John Spencer, president of Quincy's standing committee. "We want people to understand this is not a typical 'lawsuit.' We're not trying to take property away from anyone. We're simply trying to protect the property of our diocese and local churches which we believe legally -- and morally -- belong to the people of those churches, and to our historic diocese that has existed since 1877."

The petition was filed after a series of legal actions by the leadership of The Episcopal Church that began soon after the annual synod voted to leave The Episcopal Church in November. In January, lawyers for The Episcopal Church successfully convinced the diocese's investment bank to freeze its assets. In February, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori wrote the members of the Quincy standing committee to inform them that she no longer recognized them as officers. Bishop Jefferts Schori is scheduled to convene a special reorganizing convention in Quincy on April 4.