127 N.Y.S. 836 | N.Y. App. Div. | 1911
This is an action in ejectment ■ to recover the possession of lots Nos. 208 to 214, inclusive, on West ■ Twenty-third street in the borough of Manhattan, New York, having a frontage of 100 feet on said street, commencing 100 feet westerly from Seventh avenue, and extending in depth southerly by parallel lines 118 feet and 9 inches, upon which there is and long has been a church edifice known as the Westminster Presbyterian Church of West Twenty-third Street, used for religious worship.
The plaintiff was duly incorporated on the 8th day of April, 1889, by the consolidation of the “ Associate Reformed Church in 25th Street,” with which the Westminster Church, organized on the 24th day of March, 1852, had been duly united in October, 1856, and the “West Twenty-third Street Presbyterian Church,” which had been originally organized April 14, 1834, as the “ Eighth Avenue Presbyterian Church.” The consolidation was authorized by the Supreme Court, pursuant to an agreement made" between the two corporations, with the consent and approval of the presbytery of the Presbyterian church, on the third day of that month. The premises in question were conveyed to the Eighth Avenue Presbyterian Church in its corporate name, and to its successors and assigns^ without any express limitation or restriction, by two deeds, dated February 11 and 28, respectively, 1853, and recorded on the sixteenth day of March of the same year. The name of this church was thereafter' and during the same year changed to West Twenty-third Street Presbyterian Church, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 323 of the Laws of 1853, and it appears by undisputed evidence that this
The plaintiff and its predecessors were denominational Presbyterian churches, subject to the jurisdiction of a presbytery and of a synod and of the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States. On the 17th day of March, 1908, the presbytery of the Presbyterian church for the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, which was composed of the ministers assigned to the different churches and one ruling elder from each congregation in said territory, and which was vested under the laws of the church with general ecclesiastical authority to discipline the churches within its jurisdiction, was duly in session, and the minutes of its meeting show the following proceedings and action, viz.:
“ The stated clerk reported that he had duly notified the pastor and Session of the Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, of the action of Presbytery taken at its meeting March 3rd, with reference to the dissolution of that church. ' The Moderator’s Council presented a supplementary report recommending that the Church be at once dissolved. Eev. Harlan G-. Mendenhall, pastor, reported that at a corporate meeting of the congregation held last evening forty-seven of those present voted in favor of such dissolution and forty-seven in the negative. Members of the congregation present were then given full opportunity to present their views, and .at the request of Presbytery the pastor made a further statement regarding the affairs of that Church.
“ Presbytery then went into executive session and discussed the report of the Moderator’s Council, which, after slight amendment, was unanimously adopted and is as follows:
■ “ The Moderator’s Council would respectfully recommend m re Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, the adoption of the following resolutions :
■“ Resolved, That this Presbytery having heard the report of the Moderator’s Council concerning the condition of affairs of the Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, New Fork City, and due notice, of the contemplated action by Presbytery liav
“ Resolved, That all the Sessional records be turned over to the Stated Clerk of Presbytery and that he be directed to issue to the members of the Church letters of dismission to such other churches as said members severally request.
“ Resolved, That the Trustees of. Presbytery be requested and are hereby authorized to take charge of the property belonging to the Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, Sew York, including balance of deposits in banks and trust companies, and to conserve the same and hold the same subject to the directions of Presbytery, and also with power to audit and pay any outstanding floating indebtedness of-said Church; and that said trustees be and hereby are authorized to demand and receive all books, papers, records and monies in possession of all the treasurers of all organizations of said Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, including the Session, the Board of Trustees, the Ladies’ Aid Society, the Foreign Missionary Society, the Sunday School, the Christian Endeavor Society, and all other funds belonging to said Church, including the Christian Endeavor Fund alleged to be in the possession of Walter H. Findlay, and to hold said funds subject to the order of Presbytery; and that said Trustees be, and hereby are, authorized to notify the executors of the Estate of the late Mary Jane Johnston of the action of Presbytery in dissolving said Westminster Church of West 23rd Street, .New York, and to make such arrangements with said executors as will safeguard the interests of said Westminster Church in said estate.
“Resolved, That the question of utilizing said Church building for religious services in the future and the method of conducting such services be referred to the Presbytery’s Committee on Church Extension for consideration and report at the April meeting of said Presbytery, and meanwhile said Committee be requested to continue
The defendant is the body referred to in said resolutions as the “ Trustees of Presbytery,” and it took possession of the church and premises pursuant to said resolutions. Section 8 of chapter 10 of the form of government'contained in the Presbyterian Digest, being the laws of the church, conferred authority on the presbytery, among'other things, “to resolve questions of doctrine or discipline seriously .and reasonably proposed; to condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the Church; to visit particular churches for the purpose of inquiring into their state, and redressing the evils that may have .arisen in them; to unite or divide congregations.at the request of the people, or to form or receive new congregations, and in general to order whatever pertains to the spiritual welfare of the churches under their cafe.” The action of the presbytery is subject to review by the synod, to which an appeal was duly taken from said action of the presbytery. The synod confirmed the action of the. presbytery,' and a further appeal was duly taken, as authorized by the law of the church, to the permanent judicial commission, which duly heard the appeal and reported its action thereon'to the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States o.f America, which duly made the judgment of the permanent judicial commission its judgment in the premises. By the judgment of the general assembly thus recorded the action of the presbytery was fully sustained in every particular. On specific objections it expressly adjudged that the condition of this church “ had become such as to jeopardize the interests of religion beyond, as well as within, the bounds of its'own parish; ’’ that it was within the power of the presbytery to dissolve the church; that the elders were duly relieved from the discharge of their duties; that the church was duly dissolved; that the presbytery did not act arbitrarily, but “with great forbearance;” that, “In this case the action of Presbytery was constitutional, and thereby the dissolution was regularly effected. The church and congregation
After the dissolution of this church .the presbytery of Ye.w York duly organized and enrolled a new Presbyterian church subject to its jurisdiction, under the name of the “ West Twenty-third Street Presbyterian Church of Yew York City,” and recognized the new church “as the successor of the Westminster Church of West Twenty-third Street.” Thereafter the new church was permitted by the presbytery and by the defendant to use the church building in which to worship and conduct religious services. The authority of the presbytery to thus organize and install the new church as the successor to the dissolved church was also by appeal duly presented to the permanent judicial commission, which specifically adjudicated that, the former church organization having been dissolved, it was both appropriate and lawful for the presbytery to organize and receive a new congregation within the bounds of the same parish, and to .permit it to use the church, and “ that Presbytery acted properly in the premises.” This judgment of the permanent judicial commission was likewise duly made the judgment of the general assembly.
It is conceded that the court has no authority to review the action of the presbytery in dissolving the church or in organizing the new church; and those and the right to membership in the church and congregation as well being questions of an ecclesiastical nature relating, to the government and discipline of the church, it is quite clear that the decision of the constituted authorities of the churcli is final and is binding on the civil tribunals of justice. (Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 727, 730, 731; Rector of St. James Church, v.
According to the law of this denominational church, no church may withdraw from the presbytery, or unite with another: body without the consent of the presbytery, and its place of worship cannot be changed without- the consent of ■ the presbytery. The presbytery alone has power to form, unite and divide churches, and to establish and dissolve pastoral relationships. Section 1 of chapter .12 of the form of government of the church provides as
The radical principles of Presbyterian church government disci-, pline are: “ That the several different congregations of believers, taken collectively, constitute one Church of Christ, called emphatically the church ; that a larger part of the church, or a representation of it, should govern a smaller, or determine matters of controversy which arise therein; that, in like manner, a representation of the whole should govern and determine in regard to every part and to all the parts united — that is, that a majority shall govern ; and consequently that appeals may be carried from lower to higher judicatories, till they be finally decided by the collected wisdom and united voice of the whole church. For these principles and this procedure the example of the apostles and the practice of tlie primitive church are considered as authority.”
Mo law of the church was read in evidence defining when a church becomes extinct; but chapter 112'of the laws of the church provides that if a church becomes extinct, the presbytery with which it was connected shall have jurisdiction over its members and shall grant to them letters of dismission to some other church.
On the 5th day of April, 1910, the presbytery duly adopted preambles reciting in part its action on the 17th day of March, 1908, in dissolving the church and directing the defendant tó take possession of the property, and the appeals, and reciting the incorporation of the presbytery, stated to be the ecclesiastical governing body of the church in the boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx, under the name of the defendant in . 1867, the former action with respect to granting letters of dismission to the members of the dissolved congregation, the organization of the new church to worship in the old church building, and that the old church had since its dissolution and for two consecutive years prior to April 5, 1910, “ failed- to maintain religious services according to the discipline, customs and usages of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America,” and resolutions as follows:
" Therefore, be it resolved, That the Trustees of the Presby
“ Be it further resolved, That counsel to The Trustees of the-Presbytery be instructed to proceed' by all lawful means to obtain a record title to the land, church edifice and other buildings thereon, formerly belonging to the Westminster Presbyterian Church of West 23rd Street, New York, pursuant to the Laws of the State of New York in such case made and provided.”
By subdivision 2 of section 46 of tlie Beligious Corporations Law, in force March 17, 1908 (Gen. Laws, chap. 42 [Laws of 1895, chap. 723], added by Laws of 1902, chap. 97), now subdivision 2 of section 69 of the Beligious Corporations Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 51; Laws of 1909, chap. 53), which applied to Presbyterian churches in connection with the general assembly of the Presbyterian church in the United States of America, it was expressly provided as follows:
“ If any trustee of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, declines to act, resigns or dies, or having been a member of such church, ceases to be such member, or not having been a member of such church, ceases to be a qualified voter at a corporate meeting thereof, his office shall be vacant and such vacancy may be filled by the remaining trustees until the next annual corporate meeting of such church, at which meeting the vacancy shall be filled for the unexpired term.”
Since all the members of the congregation of the dissolved church ceased to be members of the church upon its dissolution, it follows, I think, that the plaintiff as a corporation thereby stood vested with the legal title to the property, but without trustees or corporate members. The-corporation as such was riot and of course could, not be dissolved by the ecclesiastical authorities of the church. It would seem that the church, by the action of the presbytery in dissolving it, became extinct as a religious body for thereby the connection of every member of the congregation was severed as
Section 6 of the act extends the jurisdiction of the courts of equity of the State over such corporations “so far as may be necessary to enforce the provisions of this act.” Said section 4 of chapter 79 of the Laws of 1875 became, without material change, section 5 of the Religious Corporations Law, as originally enacted (Gen. Laws, chap. 42; Laws of 1895, chap. 723), and in an amended form has found its way into section 5 of the present Religious Corporations Law (Consol. Laws, chap. 51; Laws of 1909, chap. 53), and, in so far as it has particular application to the constituent churches of the Presbyterian church in the United States of America, into subdivision 3 of section 46 of the former Religious Corporations Law .(added by Laws of 1902, chap. 97) which is now subdivision 3 of section 69 of the present Religions Corporations Law, which is as follows:
“ The trustees of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable shall have the custody and control of all the terhporalities and property belonging to the corporation and of the revenues from such property, and shall administer the same in accordance with the discipline, rules, usages, laws and book of government of the religious denomination or ecclesiastical governing body with which the church is connected, and with the provisions of law relating thereto, for the support and maintenance of the church corporation or providing the members thereof at a corporate meeting thereof shall so authorize, of some religious,' charitable, benevolent or educational object,, conducted by such church, or connected with it, or with the denomination with which it is connected, and they shall not use.
Section 62 requires that “ the fixing or changing of the times, nature or order of public or social'or other worship” of such denominational church be “in the manner and by the authority provided in the laws, regulations, practice, discipline, rules and usages of the Presbyterian religious denomination or ecclesiastical governing body with which such church is connected.”
It appears that the session is a spiritual body of each church congregation composed of the pastor and elders possessing, subject to the presbytery, the authority to which reference is made in this
The defendant in adopting the preambles and resolutions on the 5tli day of April, 1910, assumed to act pursuant to the provisions of section 16 of the Religious Corporations Law herein quoted. Doubtless, in order to remove any doubt there might be as to whether tins authority was lodged in the defendant, orin the presbytery as an unincorporated body, the presbytery on the eleventh day of the same month formally ratified and approved the action of the defendant. The learned
After the presbytery of New York took the lead by becoming
I am of opinion, therefore, that the act in effect (See Robertson v. Bullions, suptra), although not strictly-in form, incorporated the' presbytery as a body, but in the name of the trustees, and that it has the same authority to declare a church extinct as if it had been incorporated pursuant to the provisions of section 15 of the Religious Corporations Law quoted, which, as lias been seen, is phrased somewhat differently. The defendant is within the spirit, although not within the letter, of said section 16. •
If section 16 of the Religious Corporations Law be applicable to the facts presented by this record and be constitutional, then it is quite clear that the Legislature, in the exercise of its jurisdiction over religious corporations and property dedicated to religions and charitable uses, has directed that in these circumstances the defendant should be entitled to the possession of the church property. It is, however, contended on the part of the plaintiff that the statute is not in point, for the reason that it was never intended to apply to a case where the presbytery sets tile two years’ statute running by its, own action in dissolving the church, and that if the statute be deemed applicable it is unconstitutional. We must accept without questioning the resolution of the presbytery.dissolving the church as a religious body. Thereafter the trustees and other rebellious members of the congregation could not administer the projierty of the corporation “ in accordance with the discipline, rules, usages, laws and book of government ” of the church, for they instantly
It follows, therefore, that the judgment should be reversed and a new trial granted, with costs to appellant to abide the event.
McLaughlin, Miller and Dowling, JJ., concurred ; Ingraham, P. J., dissented.
Judgment reversed, new trial ordered, costs to appellant to abide event. Settle order on notice.