Cowra's St John's Anglican Church is one of 34 parishes caught up in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's attempts to recoup millions of dollars of debt from the Anglican Diocese of Bathurst.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Commonwealth Bank has demanded the diocese repay its $25 million debt immediately by selling off property and church buildings.
The bank sent the Bathurst diocese a list of properties to be sold to recoup the money.
Parishes will be asked to come up with a "target" amount of money to contribute to the diocese war chest, but if the parishes do not have access to liquid assets they may have to sell church property to raise the funds.
Bishop Ian Palmer says the church will not go down without a fight and will do all it can to protect its churches.
Church buildings were at the bottom of the list of properties to be sold, Bishop Palmer said.
"We are instructed that in order to repay this money immediately, we must sell off assets to meet this bill," he said.
"What we are saying is that we are protecting these assets, for the good of the communities.
"But we will have to use some of those assets, a small proportion."
The church is arguing the Anglican Development Fund, which no longer exists, borrowed the money from the bank and the church is therefore not responsible for actions undertaken by the defunct fund.
The Anglican Diocese of Bathurst covers about a third of NSW, from the Blue Mountains to the Queensland border.
It stretches from Oberon, Cowra and West Wyalong in the south to Cobar and Bourke in the west, across the north-west to Coonamble and Coonabarabran, and in the east to Coolah, Mudgee and Rylstone.
The matter is not expected to go to trial this year.
