Evening star., 1952-05-04
BY Religious News Service

ruled illegal religious instruction
conducted on school premises.
While the released time program
has made progress since the 1948
decision some communities and
school boards have been reluctant
to put the program into operation
until its status was clarified in
relation to the McCollum decision.
This weeks decision is expected
% result in a rapid increase in the
humber of communities sponsor
ing the program.
State Courts Disagree.
On the State level, courts have
disagreed on what constitutes an
ecclesiastical matter outside the
jurisdiction Of civil tribunals.
In a decision involving an in
ternal dispute in a Baptist con-
gregation the Florida Supreme
Court last week held that when
there is evidence Of fraud, COL
lusion or arbitrary conduct" in
church affairs the matter properly
belongs within the jurisdiction of
the civil courts and cannot be
regarded as purely ecclesiastical"
with church court having the
anal say.
The opinion was handed down
IN a decree upholding a lower
court decision backing the custer
pf "rump" faction of First Bap-
list Church of Eustis, Fla, includ-
ng its pastor
Attorney for the rump group
had argued that the issue was
purely an ecclesiastical matter
pver which the civil courts had
40 jurisdiction.
On the other hand, the appel
ate division Of the New York
Supreme Court reversed, on April
4. a 1850 Brooklyn Supreme
Court ruling blocking the proposed
merger Of the Congregational
Christian Churches and the Evan
Ielical and Reformed Church.
Extent Of DeIving Cited.
In its ruling, the appellate divi-
ion ehunciated this principle:
Ecclesiastical or doctrinal oues-
Ions may be inquired into only
insofar as it may be necessary to
10 so to determine the civil or
property rights of the parties. The
Fivil courts do not interfere with
ecclesiastical matters in which
temporal rights are not involved. "
Meanwhile, an instance Of pos
ible defiance by an ecclesiastical
|ody Of q civil court ruling on an
Internal church dispute took place
a Philadelphia this week.
Bishop Viorel D. Trifa of Cleve-
and was consecrated as the head
I the Romanian Orthodox
'hurch in America there despite
n order issued by United States
District Court temporarily re-
training the conservation.
The restraining order was
ought by attorneys for Bishop
Andrei Moldovan, Akron, Ohio.
r1est who made a secret trip to
tomania in November, 1850,
here he was consecrated by Pa
riarch Justinian Of Bucharest,
nd designated by the Patriarch
head the American church.
However, in July, 1851, the an
ual convention of the Romanian
)rthodox Church in America re-
scted the Bucharest-appointed
ishop as its leader and named DR..
rita, editor Of the Romanian
rthodox periodical Sofia, as act
1g bishop.
Court Order Ignored.
United States District Judge
Ian K. Grim ordered that the
pnsecration be postponed until
lrther hearing Of the case, but
iShop Trifa and his followers
evertheless went ahead with the
pnsecration rites as scheduled.
High courts in two States
ichigan and nlinois-rendered
pposite decisions on an issue
hich is growing throughout the
buntry-the right Of congrega-
ons to erect houses of worship in
ssidential areas.
The Michigan Supreme Court
pheld a lower court ruling that
irst United Presbyterian Church
Detroit could not construct a
ew church edif1ce in a residential
rea Of that city. But the Appel
tie Court in Chicago reversed the
ecision of a lower tribunal which
ad barred the Episcopal Church
the Holy Nativity from erecting
building in residential area.
In the Michigan decision, the
purt held that "a church obvi-
lsly is not a nuisance, but it still
lay not force it's way into an area
estricted to residential uSe."
In the meantime, the question: