Protestant Episc. Church, Diocese of NJ v. Graves

417 A.2d 19, 83 N.J. 572, 1980 N.J. LEXIS 1378

• Court: Supreme Court of New Jersey
• Decided: July 24, 1980
• Status: Published

Opinions

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

SULLIVAN, J.

This case involves a dispute over control of local church property. The denomination involved is the Protestant Episcopal Church. Plaintiffs are the Protestant Episcopal Church (Church) in the Diocese of New Jersey (Diocese), the Trustees of Church Property of the Diocese and the Diocesan Bishop. Defendants are St. Stephen’s Parish of Plainfield, New Jersey, and its rector, wardens and vestrymen.

The essential facts are not in dispute. St. Stephen’s was incorporated on January 11, 1895 as an affiliate member of the Protestant Episcopal Church.¹ Its corporate title was and still is “The Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Stephen’s Church in Plainfield.” For a number of years after its incorporation St. Stephen’s did not own any church property. However, in 1935 it purchased the chapel which it had been using for services and the property on which the chapel was situated. In 1967 and in 1970 additional property was purchased for use as a parish hall and school building. In each case the purchase was made with local funds without Diocesan financial assistance. The deeds run to the parish corporation and do not contain any words of trust or reverter in favor of the Diocese.

Defendants concede that from 1895 until 1976, when the local parish became embroiled in a doctrinal dispute with the Diocese of New Jersey and The Protestant Episcopal Church, St. Stephen’s operated as an affiliated member of the Diocese and the Church, adhering to long-established Protestant Episcopal customs and usages including submission to Diocesan authority. The parish used the standard prayer book of the Episcopal Church and in 1928 accepted the new Book of Common Prayer. Substantial changes in the canons of the Church were also followed. Annual Diocesan assessments and missionary quotas were regularly paid and delegates regularly sent to the Diocesan Convention. When the parish decided to sell its old rectory and place a mortgage on the new one in 1973 it sought and obtained Diocesan approval in compliance with the requirements of N.J. S.A. 16:12-4, part of a 1901 supplement to the 1829 statute regulating the affairs of the Protestant Episcopal Church in this State. In short, the undisputed facts demonstrate that from the time of its incorporation, St. Stephen’s was an integral part of the hierarchical structure of the Church and submitted to the Church’s authority in all matters connected with parish affairs.

The present controversy between the Diocese and St. Stephen’s involves doctrinal disputes concerning, inter alia, the ordination of women, and changes in the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. In September 1976 the vestrymen of St. Stephen’s wrote to Bishop Van Duzer claiming the actions were “heretical” and stating that the parish had decided to suspend its affiliation with the Diocese and the Church, withhold payment of assessments and not participate in Diocesan affairs or accept Diocesan authority.

In April 1977, at a special meeting attended by about 29% of St. Stephen’s adult parishioners, a majority of those present voted to sever the parish relationship with the Diocese. As a result, Bishop Van Duzer “inhibited”² Rev. Mr. Graves, the rector of St. Stephen’s, from performing any priestly duties. Despite the ban, Rev. Mr. Graves continued to conduct services and a substitute priest sent by the Diocese to St. Stephen’s was denied permission to officiate at parish services. The present suit followed seeking essentially to bar Rev. Graves from conducting services at St. Stephen’s and to restrain defendants from putting parish property to any use not sanctioned by the Diocese.

After the commencement of suit, Rev. Mr. Graves responded to the certificate of inhibition by characterizing the facts alleged as grounds for inhibition as “false.” Bishop Van Duzer, however, considered the response to be insufficient, and when Rev. Mr. Graves failed to submit a further response, he was “deposed” by formal action of Bishop Van Duzer. The relief sought was then expanded to include removal of Rev. Mr. Graves from the church rectory.

Cross-motions for summary judgment were submitted accompanied by numerous affidavits and documents. The trial judge granted plaintiffs’ motion and entered a declaratory judgment that the parish property could not be used for any purpose not sanctioned by the Diocese. All assets of St. Stephen’s were placed under the control of the Trustees of Church Property of the Diocese of New Jersey until the proper Church authorities decided otherwise. The judgment also ordered that Rev. Mr. Graves be removed from the church or parish house except to attend worship services or social events approved by the Diocese.³ 161 N.J.Super. 230 (Ch.Div.1978). On appeal, the Appellate Division upheld the judgment for the reasons expressed by the trial judge. 167 N.J.Super. 563 (1979). Defendants-appellants filed an appeal with this Court as of right alleging the existence of a substantial constitutional issue. See R. 2:2-l(a). We affirm for the following reasons.

In this country, courts have been repeatedly admonished not to attempt to decide ecclesiastical doctrinal controversies. It has been often stated that “[t]he law knows no heresy, and is committed to the support of no dogma, the establishment of no sect.” Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 728, 20 L.Ed. 666, 676 (1872). However, subject to certain limitations, a civil court can be called upon to resolve a church property dispute.

The United States Supreme Court has held that the First Amendment does not dictate that a state must follow a particular method of resolving church property disputes and any one of various approaches may be adopted so long as it does not involve consideration of doctrinal matters. Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595, 99 S.Ct. 3020, 61 L.Ed.2d 775 (1979). One acceptable method of approach was outlined in Watson v. Jones, supra, which repudiated the English rule that church property was the subject of an implied trust in favor of those who truly adhered to church doctrine. The Supreme Court held that our basic constitutional requirement of the separation of Church and State prevented courts from using the departure from doctrine approach in the adjudication of church property disputes. In the absence of specific trust provisions in the deed, will or other instrument by which the property is held, Watson made inquiry as to where the particular church body had placed ultimate authority over the use of church property. Two broad types of church government were recognized. In a congregational church, church authority and control over church property rested completely in the local congregation and its elected elders. In a hierarchical church, however, the local church is an integral and subordinate part of the general church and subject to its authority. Watson, therefore, held that in a hierarchical situation where there was a property dispute between a subordinate local parish and the general church, civil courts must accept the authoritative ruling of the higher authority within the hierarchy.

The Watson rule, although admittedly not exclusive, has been modified to the extent that a civil court may inquire into fraud, collusion or arbitrariness in the ecclesiastical disposition. Gonzales v. Archbishop, 280 U.S. 1, 50 S.Ct. 5, 74 L.Ed. 131 (1929).

The Watson principle was followed in Serbian Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, 426 U.S. 696, 96 S.Ct. 2372, 49 L.Ed.2d 151 (1976). There, in a hierarchical church dispute over the removal of a bishop with its incidental effect on the adjudication of property rights, the United States Supreme Court reversed a state court ruling that had rejected the decisions of the highest ecclesiastical tribunals of the hierarchical church upon the issues in dispute. In so doing, the Supreme Court ruled that the First and Fourteenth Amendments permit hierarchical religious organizations to establish their own rules and regulations for internal discipline and government and to create tribunals for adjudicating disputes over these matters.

The Supreme Court held that when this choice has been exercised and ecclesiastical tribunals have been created to decide disputes over governmental direction of subordinate bodies, the Constitution requires that civil courts accept their decisions as binding upon them. 426 U.S. at 724-725, 96 S.Ct. at 2387. The Court also declared in Serbian that where the resolution of a church property dispute may be a consequence of an ecclesiastical determination, “[cjivil courts must accept that consequence as the incidental effect of an ecclesiastical determination that is not subject to judicial abrogation, having been reached by the final church judicatory in which authority to make the decision resides.” 426 U.S. at 720, 96 S.Ct. at 2385. Thus, Watson's holding with respect to the appropriate role of civil courts remains unchanged even where a church property dispute is incidentally resolved by an ecclesiastical determination.

Another acceptable method of resolving church property disputes is the neutral principles of law approach enunciated by the United States Supreme Court in Presbyterian Church v. Hull Church, 393 U.S. 440, 89 S.Ct. 601, 21 L.Ed.2d 658 (1969). This approach, as evolved in succeeding cases, calls for the completely secular examination of deeds to the church property, state statutes and existing local and general church constitutions, by-laws, canons, Books of Discipline and the like to determine whether any basis for a trust in favor of the general church exists. In Jones v. Wolf, supra, the most recent decision in this area, the Supreme Court reaffirmed its approval of the neutral principles of law doctrine as one of the various approaches for settling church property disputes. The Jones decision involved a church property dispute between the local church and the general church in which the Georgia courts had examined the property deeds, state statutes, local church charter, the general church constitution and Book of Church Order. When the examination failed to reveal any language of trust in favor of the general church, the Georgia courts ruled that more than a mere connectional relationship between the local and general church must be shown to give rise to property rights in the general church. Accordingly, it was held that legal title to the church property was vested in the local church congregation. The United States Supreme Court approved this neutral principles of law approach as an acceptable method of resolving the particular dispute.

Prior to the United States Supreme Court decision in Watson, the New Jersey cases had also recognized the distinction between eongregationally structured churches and hierarchical churches. With respect to hierarchical church organization, it has been held that local church bodies were subject to the established discipline and authority of the central church body. American Primative Society of Paterson v. Pilling, 24 N.J.L. 653 (Sup.Ct.1855); Den v. Bolton, 12 N.J.L. 206 (Sup.Ct.1831).

After the Watson decision, a church property dispute was presented in Kelly v. McIntire, 123 N.J.Eq. 351 (Ch.1938). In Kelly, the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America and one of its local member parishes became involved in a doctrinal dispute. The local parish had declared its severance from the parent church and repudiated the authority of the parent church. In a suit brought by members of the local church “loyal” to the parent church, the court held that “a congregation belonging to a religious denomination and subject to the constitution, faith and doctrines thereof, cannot use its property for a purpose other than that sanctioned by the denomination.” Id. at 361. The court rested its ruling on statutory provisions of this State relating to the acquisition, holding and use of local church property. Rev.1877, p. 959, as amended by P.L. 1898, p. 397, 3 Comp.Stat, p. 4309; P.L. 1881, p. 256, 3 Comp.Stat., p. 4312, § 12d. Reference was also made to the statute regulating the incorporation of local Presbyterian parishes. P.L. 1905, p. 254, 3 Comp.Stat, p. 4343, § 81. In addition, the court quoted extensively from Watson and appears to have also relied on that holding in determining the property dispute.

More recently, in St. John’s Greek Catholic Church v. Fedak, 96 N.J.Super. 556 (App.Div.1967), certif. den. 50 N.J. 406 (1967), a church property dispute involved a hierarchically structured national church (Metropolia) and a local parish which had never formally affiliated with the Metropolia but had participated on a voluntary basis. It was held that the evidence of relationship was insufficient to establish sufficient affiliation to make the local parish an integral part of the Metropolia. St. John’s, however, stated that “[i]n the case of property belonging to a particular ecclesiastical organization which is part of a larger general church organization, a majority cannot secede from that organization and transfer the property of the church to another use.” 96 N.J.Super. at 577.

Against this decisional background we consider the present matter. The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America is a hierarchically structured organization which by virtue of its constitution and canons exercises pervasive control over its constituent parishes and missions. It is undisputed that St. Stephen’s was a member church of the Protestqnt Episcopal Church and remained affiliated with the national church and subject to hierarchical discipline and authority until the present dispute.

In the absence of express trust provisions, we conclude that the hierarchical (Watson) approach should be utilized in church property disputes in this State. Only where no hierarchical control is involved, should the neutral principles of law principle be called into play. Here it has been established that the Protestant Episcopal Church is a completely integrated hierarchical body, the ecclesiastical determination of which incidentally resolves the question of control over local church property. This is dispositive of the case.

St. Stephen’s Church was incorporated as an affiliated member of the Protestant Episcopal Church. This incorporation has never been changed and the local church organization and its property are subject to the hierarchical authority of the parent church as indicated in the constitutions and canon law of the national church and its dioceses. Under the Watson rule, therefore, plaintiffs were entitled to the relief sought.

However, even using the neutral principles of law approach, we reach the same result. St. Stephen’s, as heretofore noted, came into existence under the 1829 statute relating to incorporation of religious societies “worshipping according to the customs and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church,” as supplemented. The latest supplement, L. 1901, c. 62, now N.J.S.A. 16:12-1 et seq.,* **4 specifically provides in section 4, that the sale, conveyance or mortgage of real estate belonging to an incorporated parish of the Protestant Episcopal Church is subject to the consent of the bishop of the diocese. St. Stephen’s recognized the authority of this statutory provision since it is not disputed that when the parish decided to sell its old rectory and place a mortgage on the new one in 1973, it sought and obtained Diocesan approval. The constitution and canons of the national church in Title 1, Canon 6, Sec. 3 require the same consent. Under canon law of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of a local parish must be members of The Protestant Episcopal Church.

In addition, section 4 of Canon 6 of the national church, adopted after this litigation commenced, now specifies that all parish property is held in trust for the national church and the diocese in which the parish is located. It is true that this express trust provision was not a part of the written canons when St. Stephen’s decided to sever its relationship with the Diocese and the national church. Nevertheless, it reflects established customs, practices and usages of The Protestant Episcopal Church.

The basic dispute herein is unquestionably, doctrinal in nature, the ecclesiastical determination of which incidentally affects the control over local church property. Serbian, supra. The critical fact is that title to the property remains in the Rector, Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Stephen’s Church in Plainfield. St. Stephen’s was and still is incorporated as an affiliated member of The Protestant Episcopal Church. The Rev. Mr. Graves has been ecclesiastically deposed as Rector of St. Stephen’s. The other individual defendants have disaffiliated themselves from The Protestant Episcopal Church and thereby automatically terminated their eligibility to hold office as Wardens and Vestrymen of St. Stephen’s. They lack standing to dispute the hierarchical assertion of control over St. Stephen’s church property. In this connection the (Venerable Canon) Russell Abbott Smith, an expert in the Canon Law of the Protestant Episcopal Church, in his affidavit filed in the cause, after summarizing the happenings at St. Stephen’s Church, said:

Under the circumstances prevailing at Saint Stephen’s at the present time, it is impossible for the orderly management of parish affairs to be conducted. Those persons who claim to be Wardens or Vestrypersons openly and avowedly have disclaimed their allegiance to the Episcopal Church and now embrace the faith of a new Church. Under all canonical practices and traditions, these people are not entitled to vote nor to hold office in an Episcopal parish.

The individual defendants are free to disassociate themselves from St. Stephen’s and The Protestant Episcopal Church and to affiliate themselves with another religious denomination. No court can interfere with or control such an exercise of conscience. The problem lies in defendants’ efforts to take the church property with them. This they may not do. In this regard Watson stated the following:

[T]he appellants in the case presented to us have separated themselves wholly from the church organization to which they belonged when this controversy commenced. They now deny its authority, denounce its action and refuse to abide by its judgments. They have first erected themselves into a new organization, and have since joined themselves to another totally different, if not hostile, to the one to which they belonged when the difficulty first began. Under any of the decisions which we have examined, the appellants, in their present position, have no right to the property, or to the use of it, which is the subject of this suit. (emphasis added). [20 L.Ed. at 678]

For the reasons stated, we conclude that the ruling in favor of plaintiffs was correct in all respects and is hereby affirmed.

1 The parties and the trial judge assumed that the incorporation was had under the general statute governing the incorporation of religious societies and congregations now N.J.S.A. 16:1-1 e£ seq. However, the language of the certificate of incorporation and the procedure used indicate that the incorporation was had under “An Act to incorporate religious societies, worshipping according to the customs and usages of the Protestant Episcopal Church,” Laws of New Jersey, Act of February 17, 1829, as supplemented. See “An Act to incorporate trustees of religious societies,” §§ 27-38, approved April 9, 1875; and as supplemented by L. 1877, c. 56 and L. 1901, c. 62 (now N.J.S.A. 16:12-1 et seq.)

2 Under canon law of the Protestant Episcopal Church, an inhibited minister is given six months to retract, or to declare the falsity of the facts asserted in the certificate of inhibition. If such retraction or declaration is not made, it is the duty of the Bishop to depose the minister. See Title IV, Canon 10 of The Canons of the Episcopal Church.

3 Rev. Mr. Graves is no longer involved in this matter, having left St. Stephen’s and the Protestant Episcopal Church and become a priest and pastor in another religious denomination in New York. His affidavit filed in the cause states that he no longer represents any interest in conflict with the interests which the plaintiffs seek to protect.

4 This statute is appended to the official copy of the Constitution and Canons of The Protestant Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey and is referred to as “governing the same.”