Lawyers for the nation’s oldest synagogue say they plan to ask for a rehearing following an appeals court decision that gave ownership of the Rhode Island house of worship and bells worth millions of dollars to a New York congregation.

In a filing this week with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, lawyers for the congregation that worships at the Touro Synagogue in Newport say they plan to argue that last week’s decision by a three-judge panel raises important constitutional issues. They say what’s at stake is the continued vitality of the congregation that has prayed there for longer than 100 years.

A lawyer for the New York congregation, the nation’s oldest, says the court was clear in its ruling and it’s time for the sides to cooperate.

(AP)