FIRST BORN CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD, INC. v. HILL et al.

Supreme Court of Georgia1997-02-24No. S97A0119

267 Ga. 633481 S.E.2d 221

Summary · law.co

Holding. The trial court's order requiring the Church to hold annual membership meetings violates the Church's constitutional right to govern itself as a hierarchical religious organization and is reversed; the award of attorney's fees is also reversed.

A hierarchical religious organization, the First Born Church of the Living God, refused to hold annual membership meetings as required by Georgia's nonprofit corporation statute, instead holding a General Assembly every four years under its own constitution. Members sued to compel annual meetings, and the trial court ordered the Church to comply with state law and awarded attorney's fees to the Members.

The Georgia Supreme Court reversed, holding that the Church's constitutional structure as a hierarchical religious body—where governance is controlled by an elected Executive Board and Senior Bishop rather than the general membership—constitutes a religious doctrine that takes precedence over the state statute. The court reasoned that hierarchical churches are fundamentally incompatible with the annual membership meeting requirement, which assumes direct membership control over corporate affairs. Requiring annual meetings would unconstitutionally interfere with the Church's religious freedom to govern itself according to its own theological and organizational principles.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Whether a hierarchical church's internal governance structure constitutes religious doctrine exempt from state nonprofit corporation statutes
Whether requiring annual membership meetings unconstitutionally interferes with a hierarchical church's religious freedom
The scope of judicial review of internal church governance disputes

Procedural posture

Members sought to compel the Church to hold annual meetings under state law; the trial court ordered compliance and awarded attorney's fees; the Church appealed.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

majority opinion

Carley, Justice.

The First Born Church of the Living God, Inc. (Church) is a hierarchical religious organization whose membership includes Ronald Hill and the other appellees (Members). Invoking OCGA § 14-3-703 (a) of the Georgia Nonprofit Corporation Code (GNCC), Members filed this action to compel an annual meeting of the Church membership. After conducting a hearing, the trial court ordered the Church to call an annual meeting and, pursuant to OCGA § 14-3-703 (c), also awarded attorney’s fees to Members. From that order of the trial court the Church brings this appeal.

1. OCGA § 14-3-701 (a) provides that a Georgia nonprofit corporation “shall hold a meeting of members annually at a time stated in or fixed in accordance with the bylaws.” However, the Church constitution provides only that its membership shall meet in a General Assembly every four years. The GNCC provides that, if any of its provisions is inconsistent with religious doctrine governing a nonprofit corporation’s affairs “on the same subject, the religious doctrine shall control to the extent required by the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution of this state or both.” OCGA § 14-3-180. Accordingly, the issue to be determined is whether the frequency with which the Church’s membership meets is a matter of religious doctrine having constitutional precedence over the inconsistent statutory provisions of OCGA § 14-3-701 (a). See Green v. Westgate Apostolic Church, 808 SW2d 547, 552 (Tex. App. 1991).

The purpose of the annual meeting mandated by OCGA § 14-3-701 (a) is for the membership to consider and act on corporate matters. OCGA § 14-3-701 (d). However, this purpose could not be served by an annual meeting of the membership of a hierarchical church. A hierarchical church is not governed by its membership, but is controlled, instead, by a ruling convocation or an ecclesiastical head. Crumbley v. Solomon, 243 Ga. 343, 344 (254 SE2d 330) (1979). Under its constitution, the Church is governed by an Executive Board and the Senior Bishop who are elected by the membership at the Church’s General Assembly. Accordingly, the Church membership has no right to direct control over Church affairs, such as would be exercised at an annual meeting contemplated by OCGA § 14-3-701 (a). The Church constitution affords its membership only indirect control over Church affairs through the right to vote for the Executive Board and Senior Bishop at the Church General Assembly held every four years.

As a matter of constitutional law, a hierarchical religious organization must be permitted to establish the rules and regulations by which it is governed. Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, 426 U. S. 696, 724 (IV) (96 SC 2372, 49 LE2d 151) (1976). Under the rules and regulations established by the Church, as a hierarchical religious body, it cannot be governed directly by its membership. It follows that an annual meeting as contemplated by OCGA § 14-3-701 would be totally inconsistent with the Church’s fundamental religious freedom, as a hierarchical religious body, to determine its own governmental rules and regulations. Compare First Born Church of the Living God v. Bank South, 221 Ga. App. 739 (472 SE2d 469) (1996) (dispute over church property, rather than an ecclesiastical or theological issue). Members have no legal right to wrest the governing of the Church from the elected Executive Board and the Senior Bishop by obtaining court-ordered annual meetings conducted in accordance with OCGA § 14-3-701 (a). “[Rjeligious freedom encompasses the ‘power (of religious bodies) to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.’ ” Serbian Eastern Orthodox Diocese v. Milivojevich, supra at 721-722 (III). The trial court’s order that the Church call for an annual meeting of its membership in accordance with OCGA § 14-3-701 (a) constitutes an unconstitutional judicial interference in the government of the Church and that order must be reversed.

2. OCGA § 14-3-703 (c) provides that, if an annual meeting is ordered, the trial court “may also order the corporation to pay the member’s or other person’s costs (including reasonable counsel fees) incurred to obtain the order.” Since, for the reasons discussed in Division 1, the trial court was not authorized to order the Church to hold an annual meeting, it likewise was not authorized to award attorney’s fees to Members pursuant to OCGA § 14-3-703 (c).

Judgment reversed.

All the Justices concur.

Decided February 24, 1997

Reconsideration denied March 13, 1997.

Simon, Booth, Cook & Cardillo, William M. Simon, for appellant.

Leon A. Wilson II, J. Mark Hatfield, for appellees.