Virginia

A Virginia Senate committee killed legislation that would have restored the rights of state police chaplains to pray publicly "in Jesus' name" at public events.

Although the legislation passed the Virginia House last month in a 66-30 vote, the bill died Monday in the Senate Courts of Justice committee in an 8-7 voice vote.

The measure would have reversed a policy, implemented last summer by State Police Col. Steven Flaherty, that required state troopers to offer only non-sectarian prayers at public events. more >>

The largest Hispanic Christian organization in the United States has forged a strategic partnership with the world’s largest evangelical university to make it the school of choice for thousands of Latino-American Christians, according to an announcement this week.

National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which represents nearly 20,000 churches and about 16 million Hispanic Christians, will encourage its members to continue their education through Liberty University Online or at the school’s campus in Lynchburg, Va., according to Liberty Journal.

"Our desire is to see Hispanic born-again Christians mobilized on both the vertical and horizontal planes of the cross, preaching salvation and transforming their communities," said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, NHCLC president. "This can only transpire via the platform of top-tier education." more >>

In a final ruling issued Friday, a Fairfax County judge allowed nearly a dozen conservative congregations that broke from The Episcopal Church to keep their church property.

"The Court’s decision is a great victory for religious freedom," said the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, who leads the breakaway group Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA). "It makes it clear that we cannot be forced to leave our churches and our foundational Christian beliefs because of the decision by the leadership of The Episcopal Church (TEC) to change the core components of our faith.”

The long court battle began after 11 congregations in Virginia voted in December of 2006 and January the following year to sever ties with The Episcopal Church – the U.S. arm of Anglicanism – while staying in alignment with the rest of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The breakaway Anglicans believe the U.S. church has abandoned Scripture and traditional Anglicanism. more >>

FAIRFAX, Va. – As breakaway Anglicans prepare to introduce a draft constitution for their new conservative province in North America on Wednesday, many within the global church body are debating whether a separate structure is the best way to deal with the current divisions.

For many orthodox Anglicans, it is.

Returning to Truro Church in Fairfax to preach this past Sunday was former rector, or senior pastor, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns who has been leading some 80 breakaway congregations in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) as missionary bishop. more >>

A Fairfax County judge ruled in favor of a breakaway Anglican parish on Tuesday, giving conservative Anglicans another win in a long and bitter property battle with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

Circuit Judge Randy Bellows ruled that a $1.2 million parcel of property does indeed belong to Truro Church in Fairfax, Va., one of the 11 churches sued by The Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia over the control of property.

The land was originally bought by Christ the Redeemer, a church plant of Truro Church, but was given to Truro after the conservative congregations voted to leave The Episcopal Church in 2006, citing the national church's departure from Christian orthodoxy and traditional Anglicanism. more >>

ROANOKE, Va. - The chancellor of Liberty University has an ambitious plan to get the 10,500 students at the evangelical Christian college registered to vote in Virginia, a swing state that could be crucial to victory in the presidential election.

The key, according to Jerry Falwell Jr., is to register Liberty students in Lynchburg, home to the conservative college his late father founded in 1971.

"If they register here, they're more likely to vote," said Falwell, who supports Republican John McCain. more >>