Canterbury v. Canterbury

• Decision Date: 26 November 1957
• Docket Number: No. 10888,10888
• Citation: 143 W.Va. 165,100 S.E.2d 565
• Court: West Virginia Supreme Court
• Parties: A. L. CANTERBURY et al. v. Ray CANTERBURY et al.

Page 565

100 S.E.2d 565

143 W.Va. 165

A. L. CANTERBURY et al. v. Ray CANTERBURY et al.

No. 10888.

Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.

Submitted Sept. 17, 1957.

Decided Nov. 26, 1957.

Syllabus by the Court

1. Civil courts are not concerned with and have no jurisdiction to interfere in controversies of a purely ecclesiastical nature and they will interpose to control the proceedings of a religious organization only when its civil or property rights form the basis of the relief sought in such controversies.

2. 'Where one of two church factions excludes the other from the church property on the ground of departure from the doctrinal beliefs of the organization, for the advancement of which beliefs a trust was impressed, expressly or impliedly, by the deed originally conveying the property for church purposes, the departure, to warrant the exclusion, must be vital and substantial. Refined doctrinal distinctions are not sufficient for that purpose.' Point 2, syllabus, Woodrum v. Burton, 88 W.Va. 322 .

3. In a church which is strictly congregational or independent in its organization, which is governed solely within itself, either by a majority of its membership or by such other local organism as it may have instituted for the purpose of ecclesiastical government, and which holds property either by way of purchase or donation, with no other specific trust attached to it than that it is for the use of the church, the numerical majority of the membership of the church may ordinarily control the right to the use and title of such property.

4. In a suit in equity between members of a religious organization in which the plaintiffs seek an injunction to prevent the defendants from interfering with the use of its property by the plaintiffs, a bill of complaint which fails to show the form of government of the organization, or that the plaintiffs and their associates constitute a majority of its members, or that the defendants and their associates, who have excluded the plaintiffs from the use of the property, do not constitute a majority of such membership, or that the defendants and their associates have made a vital and substantial departure from the fundamental doctrinal beliefs of the organization, does not state a cause of action cognizable by a court of equity and is insufficient on demurrer.

Harold B. Eagle, Hinton, H. E. Dejarnette, Princeton, for appellants.

Clay S. Crouse, Thomas Canterbury, Beckley, for appellees.

HAYMOND, Judge.

In this suit in equity instituted in the Circuit Court of Monroe County in 1956 the plaintiffs, A. L. Canterbury, G. A. Evans, and Frank Mann, as trustees, and A. V. Canterbury, as clerk, of the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church located in Monroe County, West Virginia, seek to enjoin the defendants, Ray Canterbury, G. W. Miller, O. H. Mann, O. S. Mann, and Luther Miller, from interfering with the management of the church by the plaintiffs and depriving the plaintiffs of its use and possession, and to prohibit the defendants and persons associated with them from teaching or preaching in the church doctrines which are alleged to be contrary to its articles of faith.

To the bill of complaint the defendants filed a written demurrer which specified numerous grounds and which, by decree entered July 10, 1956, was sustained by the circuit court with leave to the plaintiffs to amend the bill of complaint. The defendants also filed an answer and an amended and supplemental answer to the bill of complaint which were later withdrawn by them without objection and by permission of the court. After the answers were withdrawn the plaintiffs declined to amend the bill of complaint and, by final decree entered December 5, 1956, the circuit court dismissed this suit and awarded costs against the plaintiffs. From that decree this Court granted this appeal on April 1, 1957, upon the petition of the plaintiffs.

By its ruling upon the demurrer, the circuit court held that the allegations of the bill of complaint, which to the extent that they are material must be considered as true on demurrer, do not sufficiently state a cause of action by the plaintiffs against the defendants which is properly cognizable by a court of equity. Consequently it is necessary in the decision of this case by this Court upon this appeal to detail to some extent and consider the allegations contained in the bill of complaint.

The bill of complaint alleges that the plaintiffs are members of the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church located in Monroe County, West Virginia; that the plaintiffs, A. L. Canterbury, G. A. Evans and Frank Mann, are the duly elected trustees, and the plaintiff, A V. Canterbury, is the duly elected clerk, of the church under the provisions of the constitution which governs the manner in which the church is managed; that the church is a member of the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church Association which is composed of other churches in the area affected and is governed by a constitution; that all the churches which compose the membership of the association subscribed to articles of faith which have been established by the original founders of the Primitive Baptist Church and constitute the religious doctrine upon which all such churches were founded and upon which the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church was founded and has always based its religious life; that the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church Association held a regular annual meeting at Hinton, Summers County, West Virginia, in August 1955; that at that meeting H. W. Morgan of Caldwell, West Virginia, was elected moderator and J. R. Lilly of Hinton, West Virginia, was elected clerk under the provisions of the constitution of the association; that at the first business meeting of the association a group of the membership left the meeting and under the leadership of J. I. Bowling of Beckley, West Virginia, without authority attempted to assume the leadership of the association; that before the annual meeting of the association other Primitive Baptist Church Associations in adjoining states had complained to the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church Association that the group under the leadership of Bowling by violating the rules of the association and advocating unorthodox principles of religion had withdrawn from the association and had ceased to have authority to participate in its proceedings; and that under its constitution the association has the power to remove any church from the association which should violate its rules or deviate from its orthodox principles of religion.

The bill of complaint also alleges that on September 3, 1955, at the regular monthly business meeting of the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church the defendants caused a group of members who had advocated teachings which were contrary to the articles of faith of the church and a large number of persons, who were strangers to the regular congregation and who had not previously attended the church, to come to the church for the express purpose of removing from office the moderator, Lowell Lilly, during his temporary absence; that the defendants together with the group of regular members and the strangers who were not members of the congregation, over the objection of the plaintiffs and other regular members of the congregation, removed Lilly as moderator and appointed I. W. Kilby as the new moderator; that Lilly had served as moderator for eighteen years; that no charges had ever been preferred against him; that such action by the defendants and their associates, being unauthorized and in violation of the constitution of the church, was of no force or effect; that on Saturday, October 1, 1955, at the next regular business meeting of the church, the moderator, Lowell Lilly, was present; that the defendants and their associates were requested to present any charge entertained by them of misconduct upon his part but that they failed and refused to prefer any such charge; that the regular church membership then present, the strangers who had attended the previous meeting being absent, made a request that another vote be taken on the question of removing Lilly as moderator and appointing another person to succeed him; that the defendants at first agreed but later refused to take another vote on that question; that the plaintiffs and their associates, who are the real congregation of the church, insisted that such vote be taken; that the defendants continued in their refusal to take such vote and, stating that the vote had been taken on September 3, 1955, refused to permit Lilly or the plaintiffs to vote again on that question; and that Lilly was then and still is the regularly elected and duly authorized moderator of the church but is prevented by the defendants and their associates from conducting meetings in accordance with the provisions of its constitution.

The bill of complaint further alleges that at the regular monthly business meeting of the church on Saturday, November 5, 1955, from which the plaintiffs were excluded, and in the absence of Lilly, the defendants and their associates voted to padlock the doors of the church and to prohibit the plaintiffs and their associates from worshipping in the church; that immediately after the meeting locks were placed on the doors of the church and written notice signed by the defendants, Ray Canterbury and G. W. Miller, as deacons of the church, was posted; that the notice stated that the vote taken at the meeting was to place locks on the doors of the church and to stop unauthorized meetings by Lilly and his associates, and also stated that he and his associates were excluded from the association and the Indian Creek Primitive Baptist Church; that such notice violated the constitution of the church and prohibited its lifelong members from worshipping in it; that despite the warnings contained in the notice the plaintiffs have continued to attempt to worship in the church but have done so...