St. John's Presbytery v. Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg

• Decision Date: 09 May 1958
• Citation: 102 So.2d 714
• Parties: ST. JOHN'S PRESBYTERY, a corporation, et al., acting as the Session of Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, Appellants, v. CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ST. PETERSBURG, a corporation, et al., claimingto be the Board of Directors of Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg;Union Trust Company of St. Petersburg, a banking corporation under the laws ofFlorida,and Robert J. McCutcheon, Jr., as Trustee of the H. H. and Harriet VictoryTrust, all of Pinellas County, Appellees.
• Court: Florida Supreme Court

Page 714

102 So.2d 714

ST. JOHN'S PRESBYTERY, a corporation, et al., acting as the Session of Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, Appellants, v. CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF ST. PETERSBURG, a corporation, et al., claimingto be the Board of Directors of Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg;Union Trust Company of St. Petersburg, a banking corporation under the laws ofFlorida,and Robert J. McCutcheon, Jr., as Trustee of the H. H. and Harriet VictoryTrust, all of Pinellas County, Appellees.

Supreme Court of Florida.

May 9, 1958.

Rehearing Denied June 5, 1958.

Wm. C. McLean, Tampa, for appellants.

Byron T. Sauls of Fisher & Sauls, St. Petersburg, for appellees.

TERRELL, Chief Justice.

Since this litigation revolves around the judicatories of the Presbyterian Church and the manner in which they function, when a schism in the local church arises an introduction to them would be a helpful entree to the question presented. Described in ascending series the church judicatories include the Session of the local church, the Presbytery, the Synod and the General Assembly which is the Supreme Court of the church. Each judicatory has a responsibility to the one above it. St. John's Presbytery instituted this suit against Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg and First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg. West Central Presbyterian Church and Trustee of the Will of H. H. and Harriet Victory are named in the litigation.

The bill of complaint prays (1) that defendants be enjoined from interfering with the plaintiffs in the use, sale or encumbrance of the real or personal property of Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, hereinafter referred to as Central Church, or (2) from paying or delivering to any person or corporation any money, funds or other property constituting the property of Central Church, except to such persons, firms or corporations as may be lawfully designated. There was an answer, a motion to dismiss and an amended complaint. Testimony was taken and at final hearing the chancellor found:

(1) During the year 1953, defendant, Central Church, withdrew from the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern), hereinafter referred to as Presbyterian Church. It is shown that Central Church was organized or established by the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg and received financial assistance from it; that the original deed of conveyance was made to the 'Trustees of the West Central Presbyterian Church and their successors.' The church was later incorporated under the laws of Florida and title to the realty was conveyed to 'Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg, Florida, a corporation.'

(2) The chancellor further found that none of these deeds created a trust but were absolute conveyances to the grantees named, the first grantee being Central Church, a corporation; that the will of H. H. and Harriet Victory, deceased, directs their trustees to pay over the balance remaining after certain bequests are paid to certain beneficiaries including 'Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg.'

(3) The chancellor also found the contention of plaintiffs to be that the Statute of Frauds, §§ 689.05 and 689.06, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., does not forbid the creation of an implied or constructive trust in favor of St. John's Presbytery for the benefit of those church members who remain steadfast in the faith and discipline of the Presbyterian Church.

(4) The chancellor then found that the government of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (Southern) was different from that of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (Northern), in that the latter church owns and controls the property of the member churches by authority of its Constitution, Ch. 27, Paragraphs 9 and 10, Constitution of the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America (Northern), while as to the Presbyterian Church of the United States (Southern) the member churches comprising the parent organization are congregational in government, each having the right to control its own property. Book of Church Order, Paragraph 163.

(5) Pursuant to these findings, the chancellor concluded that the withdrawal of Central Church from the Presbyterian Church was proper and regular; that the deeds of conveyance under which defendant claims are absolute and convey a fee simple title to Central Church; that they create no trust for the benefit of the plaintiff; that the will of H. H. and Harriet Victory conveys trust funds directly and absolutely to the defendant church and that such funds are not held in trust for the use and benefit of the plaintiffs; that the government of the Presbyterian Church as defined in the Book of Church Order contains no reference to any jurisdiction of the Presbytery or other church courts over property owned by any individual church, but limits their jurisdiction to matters of a moral or spiritual nature; that defendant church continues to adhere to the fundamental principles of Christianity and has not directed any of its property to a use fundamentally different from that contemplated in its acquisition.

On the basis of these findings, the chancellor decreed the equities to be with defendants and denied the prayer for relief on the part of plaintiffs. He supported his decree with Reid v. Barry, 93 Fla. 849, 112 So. 846; Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 20 L.Ed. 666, and Partin v. Tucker, 126 Fla. 817, 172 So. 89, and passages from the Book of Church Order heretofore adverted to. We are confronted with an appeal from the final decree so entered.

The sole point for determination may be stated as follows: Is the majority who voted to and withdrew its affiliation from Central Church or the minority who continued faithful thereto entitled to ownership of the church property?

The chancellor decreed that since the churches which comprise the Presbyterian Church were congregational in government and that a majority could withdraw its affiliation with the parent church, that such majority constituted the true representative or successor to the Gentral Presbyterian and that since the deed conveying the property to the church was absolute on its face, no implied or constructive trust could arise in favor of St. John's Presbytery for the benefit of church members who remained faithful to the discipline of the Presbyterian Church.

In so holding we think the chancellor was in error. The admissions in the answer and the evidence without contradiction show that the Presbyterian churches in the United States are not congregational in government but are representative, they are governed by an ascending series of judicatories known as the session, the presbytery, the synod and the general assembly, which is governed by a constitution and an ecclesiastical code giving it legislative, executive and judicial powers. Questions of usage, custom or practice relating to the local church or its members are governed by these judicatories and each is bound to the other by church or ecclesiastical law.

The record shows that by such authority the property in question is not expressly devoted to the support of any religious cult but it was conveyed to the 'Trustees of West Central Presbyterian Church and their successors in office' and was later conveyed by the grantees to a non-profit religious body incorporated as 'Central Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg,' the charter of which provides that membership therein shall be governed by the Book of Church Order of the Presbyterian Church. The Book of Church Order further provides for management of the affairs of the church or the corporation which could be rescinded or modified only by the Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.

These facts are important because they are not controverted and when taken in connection with other facts admitted by the pleadings and not controverted by the evidence on any material point, we think they conclude the question of whether or not an implied trust in the property of Central Church for the promulgation of the doctrines of the Presbyterian Church was created. Proper application of the law to these facts also concludes the question of whether the majority who voted to withdraw from the Presbyterian Church or the minority who remained loyal to it are entitled to the church property. It is admitted that the motion to withdraw was carried by a vote of 110 to 26. Many other factual aspects of this case, particularly those which have to do with the Book of Church Order and those which are controlled by it are admitted or are not controverted but are not discussed at this time.

So much for the organization, history and judicatories of the Presbyterian Church. Appellees contended that jurisdiction of the judicatories was limited to spiritual matters and had no relation whatever to the property of the local church. The leading case on the point in the country is Watson v. Jones, 13 Wall. 679, 20 L.Ed. 666. In that case the court was confronted with a situation very similar to the one we have here. The religious congregation holding the property was a subordinate unit of the general church organization composed of superior ecclesiastical tribunals with ultimate power in a supreme judicatory over the entire church. Same as that presented in this case. Among other things, the court said:

'In this class of cases we think the rule of action which should govern the...