Case Name: ARKANSAS PRESBYTERY of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Reverend Michael Qualls, Moderator of the Arkansas Presbytery v. Gary D. HUDSON, Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church by and Through Its Elders, Bobby Gene Jones, Carol Norris, Arvil Hudson, Glen Bond, Sr., Kenneth Norris, Kurt Richter, as Trustees for the Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Court: Arkansas Supreme Court
Jurisdiction: Arkansas
Decision Date: 2001-03-29
Citations: 344 Ark. 332
Docket Number: 01-23
Parties: ARKANSAS PRESBYTERY of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Reverend Michael Qualls, Moderator of the Arkansas Presbytery v. Gary D. HUDSON, Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church by and Through Its Elders, Bobby Gene Jones, Carol Norris, Arvil Hudson, Glen Bond, Sr., Kenneth Norris, Kurt Richter, as Trustees for the Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Judges: Brown, Imber, and Hannah, JJ„ dissent.
Reporter: Arkansas Reports
Volume: 344
Pages: 332–350

Head Matter:
ARKANSAS PRESBYTERY of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church and the Reverend Michael Qualls, Moderator of the Arkansas Presbytery v. Gary D. HUDSON, Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church by and Through Its Elders, Bobby Gene Jones, Carol Norris, Arvil Hudson, Glen Bond, Sr., Kenneth Norris, Kurt Richter, as Trustees for the Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church
01-23
40 S.W.3d 301
Supreme Court of Arkansas
Opinion delivered March 29, 2001
Peel Law Firm, P.A., by: Richard L. Peel and John R. Peel, for appellants.
McKinnon Law Firm, by: Laura J. McKinnon, for appellees.

Opinion:
RAY THORNTON, Justice.
This appeal involves a dispute over the ownership of church property located on Crow Mountain in Pope County following the separation of a local Presbyterian congregation from the hierarchical Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Appellants, Arkansas Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church ("Arkansas Cumberland") and the Reverend Michael Qualls, moderator of the Presbytery, appeal an order from the Pope County Chancery Court, granting a petition to quiet title in appellees, Gary Hudson, Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church ("Palmetto"), and the trustees of Palmetto. We affirm the trial court's rulings.
I. Background
Palmetto was formed in 1949 as a member of the National Cumberland Presbyterian Church ("National Church"), a hierarchical or connectional church, that is governed in Arkansas by Arkansas Cumberland. The National Church has a written constitution contained in the Confession of Faith.
The property at issue is three separate tracts of land used by Palmetto for its church, parsonage, and graveyard. Tract A is the property on which the Palmetto church sits. On September 21, 1949, M.L. and Cora Dixon conveyed title to Tract A by warranty deed to Cumberland Presbyterian Church — Ewing Presbytery, Arkansas, the former title of Arkansas Cumberland. Palmetto paid one-hundred dollars for the real estate, and no money was received from Arkansas Cumberland to assist in the purchase. During the next year, a church was constructed on the property and was financed by the Palmetto congregation without any assistance from Arkansas Cumberland or the National Church. In 1968, the local Palmetto church requested that title to the church property be conveyed to Palmetto, and on July 2, 1968, a deed was executed by Arkansas Cumberland to the elders of the Palmetto church to hold the property in trust for the local Palmetto church. Neither a reservation of title nor an establishment of a trust in favor of Arkansas Cumberland or the National Church is reflected in the deed.
Tract B is a two-acre church cemetery. On October 10, 1968, Mrs. Cora Dixon conveyed title to Tract B to the local elders as trustees for Palmetto. The Palmetto congregation paid for tract B without the assistance of Arkansas Cumberland or the National Church. On February 28, 1977, Palmetto purchased Tract C for $18,000 by a warranty deed for the church parsonage, or manse, in the name of the elders as trustees of Palmetto. The church obtained a mortgage for the purchase price at a local bank, and the local congregation contributed to the payment of the mortgage. Palmetto did not receive any money from the National Church or Arkansas Cumberland for the repayment of the loan.
At the time of the conveyances of Tract A and Tract B, the National Church constitution contained the following language from the Cumberland Presbyterian Digest of 1957, including the supplement of the actions of the 1963 General Assembly:
11. A. Church Property Should Be Deeded to the Local Presbytery.
B. We further recommend that the following additional provisions be adopted regarding the legal steps to be taken by presbyteries for the protection, transfer, or sale of church property:
(1) Church property should be deeded to the trustees of the local presbytery for the benefit and use of the local church, which local trustees will be in complete charge so long as the church remains organized.
This language is also found in the Cumberland Presbyterian Digest of 1975, the church law in effect at the time of the 1977 conveyance of Tract C.
In 1979, the Supreme Court determined that civil courts faced with issues of ownership of church property could properly apply "neutral principles of law" in resolving disputes as to the ownership of church property. Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595 (1979). Following the Jones case, the National Church adopted in 1984 an amendment to its constitution to replace the constitutional language endorsing the principle of local ownership of church property. According to the testimony of Mr. Gary Hudson, the church clerk, Palmetto had knowledge of this constitutional amendment because a delegate from Palmetto attended the national meeting, and the Palmetto delegate voted "no" to this constitutional amendment.
The rift between Palmetto and Arkansas Cumberland widened in 1992 when Palmetto refused to meet its financial obligations to Arkansas Cumberland, and Palmetto was reprimanded by the statewide church. Mr. Hudson testified that Palmetto contributed monies and submitted annual reports to the Arkansas Cumberland, as required by the church constitution, through 1991. Hudson further testified that Palmetto paid dues to Arkansas Cumberland until 1990 or 1991.
On August 27, 1995, Palmetto submitted a formal, written notice that indicated its intent to withdraw from Arkansas Cumberland. The local, twenty-member congregation unanimously agreed to the withdrawal. Arkansas Cumberland then appointed a commission, pursuant to the church constitution, that recommended the dissolution of Palmetto and a merger with a nearby Mars Hill Cumberland Presbyterian Church for those members who wished to remain affiliated with the National Church. Reverend Wayne Wood, a former moderator of the Arkansas Cumberland, testified, "I have not located a single member [of Palmetto] to be a party with me in this lawsuit to get the property."
The members of Palmetto refused to vacate the property or to surrender the church records as personal property. Arkansas Cumberland filed an action in replevin and for unlawful detainer, which was transferred to chancery court and consolidated with Palmetto's action to quiet title. The trial court granted Palmetto's petition to quiet title on July 8, 1999. From these orders, appellants bring this appeal. The controversy requires that we articulate neutral principles of law for review of the questions presented.
II. Standard of review
Our standard of review in chancery cases is de novo. This court has been precise in stating what de novo review entails:
Equity cases are tried de novo on appeal upon the record made in the chancery court, and the rule that this court disposes of them and resolves the issues on that record is well established; the fact that the chancellor based his decision upon an erroneous conclusion does not preclude this court's reviewing the entire case de novo. An appeal in a chancery case opens the whole case for review. All of the issues raised in the court below are before the appellate court for decision and trial de novo on appeal in equity cases involves determination of fact questions as well as legal issues. The appellate court reviews both law and fact and, acting as judges of both law and fact as if no decision had been made in the trial court, sifts the evidence to determine what the finding of the chancellor should have been and renders a decree upon the record made in the trial court. The appellate court may always enter such judgment as the chancery court should have entered upon the undisputed facts in the record.
Ferguson v. Green, 266 Ark. 556, 587 S.W.2d 18 (1979) (citations omitted). We do not reverse a finding of fact of the chancery court unless we conclude that the chancery court has clearly erred. Bendinger v. Marshalltown Trowell Co., 338 Ark. 410, 994 S.W.2d 468 (1999); Saforo & Assoc., Inc. v. Porocel Corp., 337 Ark. 553, 991 S.W.2d 117 (1999). We have said,- in addition, that a finding is clearly erroneous when, even though there is evidence to support it, the appellate court is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made. Bendinger v. Marshalltown Trowell Co., supra.
III. Neutral-principles approach
We first address whether Arkansas should adopt the "neutral principles of law" approach under Jones v. Wolf, 443 U.S. 595 (1979), and more specifically, whether the trial court failed to consider the 1984 amendment to the National Church constitution, and erred in ruling that the title to the church property remained in the local Palmetto congregation.
Jones, supra, involved a dispute over the ownership of church property following a schism in a local church affiliated with the hierarchical church organization. The "question for decision," said the Court, was "whether civil courts, consistent with the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution, may resolve the dispute on the basis of 'neutral principles of law,' or whether they must defer to the resolution of an authoritative tribunal of the hierarchical church." Id.
The Supreme Court then determined that, when determining the resolution of issues outside the realm of "religious doctrine of polity," the "neutral principles of law" approach should prevail. Id. This approach involves an examination of the following: (1) the language of the deeds; (2) the terms of the local church charters; (3) the state statutes governing the holding of church property, and (4) the provisions in the constitution of the general church concerning the ownership and control of church property. Id.
The Court explained the rationale behind this neutral-principles approach:
[I]t is completely secular in operation, and yet flexible enough to accommodate all forms of religious organization and polity. The method relies exclusively on objective, well-established concepts of trust and property law . It thereby promises to free civil courts completely from entanglement in questions of religious doctrine, polity, and practice.
Id. The Court then said that "at least in general outline," the "neutral principles of law" approach is consistent with the foregoing principes. Id. The neutral-principles approach was approved in Maryland & Va. Churches v. Sharpsburg Church, 396 U.S. 367 (1970), where a state court settled a local church property dispute on the basis of the language of the deeds, the terms of the local church charters, the state statutes governing the holding of church property, and the provisions in the constitution of the general church concerning the ownership and control of church property. That approach entailed "no inquiry into religious doctrine." Id. Other jurisdictions have adopted the neutral-principles approach. See Church of God in Christ, Inc. v. Graham, 54 F.3d 522 (8th Cir. 1995); Presbytery of Elijah Parish Lovejoy v. Jaeggi, 682 S.W.2d 465 (Mo. 1985).
We now expressly adopt the neutral-principles approach outlined by the United States Supreme Court in fones, supra, as the appropriate means of resolving church property disputes. In Arkansas, we recognized the neutral-principles approach in Gipson v. Brown, 288 Ark. 422, 706 S.W.2d 369 (1986), when we stated: "[S]tate courts can only become involved in church disputes when 'neutral principles' of law can be applied to resolve the dispute." Id. We also acknowledged this approach in West v. Belin, 314 Ark. 40, 858 S.W.2d 97 (1993). However, we did not specifically outline the neutral-principles approach in either Gipson, supra, or West, supra. Because we have recognized this approach in prior case law, and because it has been approved by our United States Supreme Court, we expressly adopt the neutral-principles standard in order to reach the merits of this appeal.
IV Church property dispute
In our application of the neutral-principles approach, we must refrain from resolving the dispute on the basis of "religious doctrine and practice" and must rely "exclusively on objective, well-established concepts of trust and property law. . . [.]" Jones, supra. Any documents, such as the church constitution, pertinent to the dispute, must be scrutinized in purely secular terms. If these documents "incorporate!] religious concepts in the provisions relating to the ownership of property" and if the interpretation of those instruments requires the resolution of a religious matter, then we "must defer to the resolution of the doctrinal issues by the authoritative ecclesiastical body." Id.
When we are called upon to construe deeds and other writings, we are concerned primarily with ascertaining the intention of the parties, and such writings will be examined from their four corners for the purpose of ascertaining that intent from the language employed. Webber v. Webber, 331 Ark. 395, 962 S.W.2d 345 (1998). In reviewing instruments, our first duty is to give effect to every word, sentence, and provision of a deed where possible to do so. Id. We will not resort to rules of construction when a deed is clear and contains no ambiguities, but only when its language is ambiguous, uncertain, or doubtful. Bennett v. Henderson, 281 Ark. 222, 663 S.W.2d 180 (1984); Barnes v. Barnes, 275 Ark. 117, 627 S.W.2d 552 (1982).
The first element of the neutral-principles approach is to review the language of the deeds. Here, the language of the deeds indicates that the local trustees of the Palmetto church hold tide to the property. As previously outlined, on September 21, 1949, M.L. and Cora Dixon conveyed tide to Tract A by warranty deed to Cumberland Presbyterian Church •— Ewing Presbytery, the former Arkansas Cumberland, and on July 2, 1968, Arkansas Cumberland deeded it back to the trustees of Palmetto. The deed for Tract A contains the following language:
THAT WE, Clyde Kinslow, Carleton Bowden, Ray McSpadden, as Trustees for Cumberland Presbyterian Church Ewing-Barrow Presbytery (formerly Ewing Presbytery), GRANTORS, for and in consideration of the sum of one and No/100 dollars ($1.00) in hand paid by Bobby Gene Jones, Carrol Norris, Arvil Hudson, Glen Bond, Sr., Kenneth Norris, Kurt Richter as Trustees for the Palmetto Cumberland Presbyterian Church, GRANTEES, the receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, hereby grant, bargain, sell and convey unto the said GRANTEES, and unto their successors and assigns forever, the following land lying in Pope County, Arkansas, .[.]
To have and to hold the same unto the said GRANTEES, and unto their successors and assigns forever, with all appurtenances thereunto belonging.
And we hereby covenant with said GRANTEES that we will forever warrant and defend the title to the said lands against all claims whatever.
The trial court heard testimony from Carleton Bowden, one of the Arkansas Cumberland trustees who was named in the 1968 Cumberland conveyance, and ruled that "[t]he testimony of Carlton Bowden was compelling in that he stated that the intent of the parent church in deeding the one acre to Palmetto was to give full title with no encumbrances." Mr. Bowden testified:
What happened in 1968 was that the Palmetto congregation requested they be given a deed by the Presbytery to the church property, the Presbytery considered the request, granted it, instructed the Trustees of Ewing-Burrow Presbytery to give a deed to the Palmetto Church. . In my opinion, the Trustees had been deeded to the congregation. . . . My opinion as to why the Cumberland Presbyterian Church is trying to back out of the 1968 Warranty Deed or why they want their property back is two fold. I think the Presbytery desires to retain the property and are reluctant to allow a precedent to be set which might cause other small churches to take similar actionf.]
The warranty deed concerning Tract B contains similar language. The deed for Tract B conveys tide from Cora Dixon to Bobby Gene Jones, Carrol Norris, Arvil Hudson, Glen Bond, Sr., Kenneth Norris, and Kurt Richter as trustees for Palmetto as grantees, "[t]o have and to hold the same unto the same GRANTEES, and unto their successors and assigns forever, with all appurtenances thereunto belonging." Later, on February 28, 1977, W.M. and Bernetta Kinslow conveyed title for Tract C to the same individuals, who were listed as grantees. The language of the deed for Tract C is identical to the Tract B deed.
In our review of the language of the deeds, we note that nothing in the language of the deeds reflects that the Palmetto property was held in trust for the Arkansas Cumberland or the National Church. The language of the deeds vests tide and control over the property to the named Palmetto trustees. Moreover, Arkansas Cumberland and the National Church did not contribute to the acquisition of the property, and the local Palmetto congregation exercised complete control over the property.
With regard to the second and third elements of the neutral-principles approach approved by the Supreme Court, we note that there is not a local church charter in the record before us, and neither party claims that any state statute creates a trust in the property.
We next consider the National Church constitution in effect at the time of the conveyances. The sections of the church constitutions do not contain any language expressly creating a trust in church property in favor of the National Church. The Cumberland Presbyterian Digest of 1957 states:
11. Tide to Church Property

As a rule, the local church is an unincorporated association, so that it cannot hold tide to property in its own name. Consequendy, it is necessary that title to property of an unincorporated church be taken in the name of Trustees. . . . The local church may have the deed to its property made to its Ruling Elders and their successors in office as Trustees for the use and benefit of the local church. Or the local church may, if it prefers, elect Trustees for the purpose of taking title to church property.

Since the opinion of the United States Supreme Court in the case of Watson vs. Jones, 13 Wallace 679, decided April 15, 1872, it has been generally held by the Courts of the several states that any property conveyed for the use and benefit of a local church of a given faith is held in trust for the congregation or the denomination adhering to that faith, so that in the event of a split in a local congregation a minority adhering to the original faith may hold the property against the majority.
In case the local congregation dissolves or ceases to exist the property still belongs beneficially in trust to the people of the faith for which the conveyance was originally made. In such a situation there may be no Trustee in existence to preserve or protect the property. Under these circumstances it has been the impression in our denomination that the title in some way is transferred to the Presbytery in which the property is situated. As a matter of civil law this is not strictly true. While the duty and responsibility of looking after the property may properly devolve upon the Presbytery, the, title does not and cannot automatically vest in the Presbytery. The Presbytery may take the legal steps for the protection, transfer or sale of the property as the best interest of the denomination indicates.
(Emphasis added.)
The supplement to the 1957 digest, which includes the actions of the 1963 General Assembly, contains the following provisions:
11. A. Church Property Should Be Deeded to the Local Presbytery.
B. We further recommend that the following additional provisions be adopted regarding the legal steps to be taken by presbyteries for the protection, transfer, or sale of church property:
(1) Church property should be deeded to the trustees of the local presbytery for the benefit and use of the local church, which local trustees will be in complete charge so long as the church remains organized.
(2) In case the local church should become disorganized through the death or removal of the officers, the presbytery should appoint some of the remaining local members of the congregation a Board of Trustees for the preservation, protections, transfer or sale of the property.
This language is also found in the 1975 edition of the Cumberland Presbyterian Digest, the governing church law at the time of the February 28, 1977, conveyance of Tract C from the Kinslow family to the Palmetto trustees.
Appellants argue that the church constitution, amended in 1984, thereafter imposes a trust in favor of the National Church upon property previously held by the local congregations. That amendment provides:
3.32 The Cumberland Presbyterian Church is a connectional church and all lower judicatories of the church to-wit: synod, presbytery, and the particular churches are parts of that body and therefore all property held by or for a particular church, a presbytery, a synod, the General Assembly, or the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, whether legal tide is lodged in a corporation, a trustee, or trustees, or an unincorporated association, and whether the property is used in programs of the particular church or of a more inclusive judicatory or retained for the production of income, and whether or not the deed to the property so states, is held in trust nevertheless for the use and benefit of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church.
Appellants' argument is misplaced. Appellants contend that by adoption of the 1984 amendment to the National Church constitution, a trust in favor of the National Church was imposed upon property belonging to the trustees of the Palmetto church. We again note that Tract A was conveyed in 1968 by Arkansas Cumberland to the local Palmetto church without any reservation of tide or creation of a trust in favor of Arkansas Cumberland or the National Church. Appellants do not cite any cases that allow a grantor to impose a trust upon property previously conveyed without the retention of a trust.
Although the neutral-principles approach to the resolution of property disputes includes consideration of any church constitutions under Jones, supra, it is appropriate to first consider the provision the church constitution in place at the time of the 1968 and 1977 conveyances. We have long held that parties to a conveyance have a right to rely upon the law as it was at that time. See Sides v. Beene, 327 Ark. 401, 938 S.W.2d 840 (1997); Abrego v. United Peoples Fed. Sav. & Loan, 281 Ark. 308, 664 S.W.2d 858 (1984); Warren v. Warren, 273 Ark. 528, 623 S.W.2d 813 (1981).
Under the National Church constitutions at the time of the 1968 and 1977 conveyances, the church property "should be deeded to the trustees of the local presbytery for the benefit and use of the local church, which local trustees will be in complete charge so long as the church remains organized." Both the 1963 and 1975 editions of the National Church constitutions, which govern the conveyances of the 1968 and 1977 conveyances, respectively, support the conclusion that exclusive title and control over local church property is vested in the Palmetto trustees. Based upon the application of our neutral-principles approach and our de novo review, we hold that the trial court did not err in quieting title to the property in the trustees of the Palmetto church.
Affirmed.
Brown, Imber, and Hannah, JJ" dissent.