Steiger

In this dispute between two factions in a church, we must tread lightly, both because the First Amendment demands it and because it is clear from the record that the opposing views are sincerely held. The church at issue here is located in Ben Lomond, California. Many of its members were among a group of persons who sought to worship as a true “New Testament” church—that is, in the manner of the earliest Christians. Prior to 1987, the Ben Lomond church was part of a 17-church national alliance of like-minded churches known as the Evangelical Orthodox Church (EOC). The leaders of the EOC came to believe that the Eastern Orthodox Church is the true successor to the New Testament Church, and that they should join one of its several “jurisdictions.” The EOC churches ultimately agreed to join a jurisdiction known as the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church (Antioch) and to submit to the authority of Metropolitan Philip, Antioch’s highest ranking leader in North America.

Eleven years later, all but two of the dozen priests who led the Ben Lomond parish decided they wanted to leave Antioch, and they requested permission from Metropolitan Philip to do so. Metropolitan Philip…