A federal judge has rescheduled a key hearing in the Egypt House religious discrimination case to April 29, when he will consider whether to block Marblehead officials from inspecting an Orthodox monastery’s property — a dispute that has escalated from a routine tax exemption request into allegations of religious persecution and government overreach.
The hearing on Egypt House’s motion for a preliminary injunction was originally set for April 10 but was postponed at the request of the plaintiff’s attorney. The U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts will now hold the hearing in person at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, April 29, in Courtroom 12 before Judge Brian E. Murphy.
Murphy will hear the motion by Egypt House for a preliminary injunction against the town’s Board of Assessors and other officials. The monastery, located at 12 Conant Road and led by Father Andrew Bushell, argues that allowing certain town officials onto its property would desecrate sacred space and violate its religious rights.
The motion stems from a broader federal civil rights complaint filed by Egypt House on March 12, marking the latest turn in nearly three years of escalating legal battles between religious associations related to Bushell and the town. While the federal case centers on 12 Conant Road, a related dispute is also unfolding in Essex Superior Court.
In January, the Shrine of St. Nicholas — another property overseen by Bushell — filed a state lawsuit challenging the town’s decision to revoke its longstanding religious exemption for 120 Pleasant St. The town has also denied a tax abatement for an affiliated property next door at 124 Pleasant St.
Broader legal dispute emerges over tax exemptions
In U.S. District Court, Egypt House’s 400-plus page filing, including exhibits, alleges religious discrimination, claiming the town selectively enforces tax laws against Orthodox properties while exempting others. Meanwhile, the Shrine of St. Nicholas’s Superior Court case argues that 120 Pleasant St. should remain exempt based on its ongoing religious use.
Together, the parallel cases seek sweeping remedies: immediate limits on inspection procedures; recognition of tax exemptions and refunds for taxes paid; monetary damages for alleged constitutional violations; and systemic reforms, including the appointment of a special master to review all religious tax exemptions in Marblehead.
Egypt House, a religious nonprofit, bought 12 Conant Road in June 2022 and quickly filed for a tax exemption, citing its use as a chapel, clergy residence and retreat center. The Board of Assessors denied the exemption that September, stating that the property did not meet the criteria for tax relief under state law.
Egypt House appealed to the state Appellate Tax Board, which ordered an inspection to verify the exemption claim.
Town Administrator Thatcher Kezer, Town Counsel Matthew Provencher and Assistant Assessor Todd Laramie did not respond to requests for comment. However, Board of Assessors Chair John Kelley defended the town’s process.
“I stand by our decision,” Kelley told the Marblehead Current. “All religious institutions must demonstrate they meet the criteria for exemption.”
He declined further comment, citing ongoing litigation.
Town officials barred from carrying out inspection
All of this comes after federal prosecutors charged Bushell and attorney Tracey M.A. Stockton, in October 2022 with fraudulently securing more than $3.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds — alleging they used the loans to renovate their Marblehead properties and make luxury purchases rather than sustain legitimate nonprofit operations. A year later, in November 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office unexpectedly dropped all charges “in the interests of justice.”
Bushell, in a Dec. 3, 2024, email to Laramie, said he was willing to allow tax-exemption inspections — but only under strict conditions.
“You are welcome to inspect both St. Nicholas’ building at 120 Pleasant and Egypt House’s building at 12 Conant Road,” he wrote, “subject to the following conditions … this inspection will be visual only. There is no need to touch or photograph the holy altars, precious chalice, sacred reliquaries, holy icons or other religious items.”
According to the email, Bushell agreed to allow Fire Chief Jason Gilliland, Building Commissioner Stephen Cummings or Police Chief Dennis King to participate. But he explicitly barred four individuals — Kelley, fellow Board of Assessors members William Willis and Jonathan Lederman, and town counsel — whom he accused of harboring personal bias.
Allowing them access, he wrote, “would be like allowing a rapist to conduct a gynecological examination on a rape victim.”
Their presence, he added, “would inflame the Orthodox community and generate needless anger and suffering.”
Egypt House did not respond to the Current’s specific questions, but Stockton sent a letter referring the newsroom to court filings and reiterating the organization’s legal claims against the town.
A consecrated chapel
In a Sept. 6, 2022 letter, the Assessors denied the exemption for the Conant Road property, citing concerns about Egypt House’s incorporation in Washington, D.C., and questioning whether the property was truly being used for religious purposes.
Bushell responded in a follow-up letter, accusing the town of inconsistent enforcement.
“The town has declined to request prorated taxes from Grace Community Church’s unaffiliated Pleasant as Street School, St. Andrew’s Nursery Coop … and no less than 30 other similarly situated properties,” he wrote.
Court documents filed by Bushell describe 12 Conant Road as containing a consecrated chapel with an altar, iconography and religious artifacts. The property also houses a library of theological works, accommodations for visiting clergy and pilgrims, and gardens where plants used in Orthodox liturgical ceremonies are grown. According to complaint documents, the property hosts daily prayer services, spiritual retreats and religious instruction.
The ATB affirmed the need for an inspection in a Jan. 7 order. Egypt House filed for reconsideration, which was denied. It then appealed to the state’s Supreme Judicial Court, which dismissed the motion on technical grounds. That same day, the ATB reimposed the inspection deadline.
The dispute over 12 Conant Road is mirrored in the conflict over the St. Nicholas properties on Pleasant Street.
In 2023, the town revoked an existing religious exemption for 120 Pleasant St. — a chapel used by the same community — and denied abatement for 124 Pleasant St., which Egypt House in its complaint documents argues is used for support functions like clergy lodging and iconography workshops.
The ATB consolidated the Pleasant Street and Conant Road appeals into a joint proceeding. Egypt House objected, arguing that the St. Nicholas site was not facing the same inspection conflict and that consolidation would unfairly delay resolution. The Superior Court complaint, filed separately, also seeks to sever the cases and pursue state-level civil rights claims related to the Pleasant Street properties.
Meanwhile, the federal court filing on March 12 invokes what is known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. The Reconstruction-era law was originally enacted to protect formerly enslaved people from discriminatory state action. Egypt House argues this law applies because town officials allegedly conspired to apply tax laws unequally based on religious identity.
Named defendants include town assessors Kelley, Willis and Lederman; Town Counsel Matthew Provencher and ATB Chair Mark J. DeFrancisco.
A predetermined denial?
The federal complaint claims the town has granted tax exemptions to other religious and nonprofit entities without the same level of scrutiny, and that Egypt House has been subject to personal attacks and irrelevant inquiries, suggesting a predetermined denial.
“Defendants seek to deny Egypt House recognition under the Statutory Exemptions, while desecrating its sacred space and thereby damaging … the minority Orthodox Catholic religious practices of its faithful,” the complaint states.
The organization argues that requiring specific town officials to enter the chapel, handle icons or photograph religious objects amounts to an unconstitutional intrusion into sacred space and religious doctrine.
The April 29 hearing will focus solely on whether to grant the injunction — not on the larger constitutional issues.
