The Rector, etc. of St. Mary of the Angel's Parish v. Anglican Church CA2/4

BACKGROUND

A. History of St. Mary’s Founded in 1918 by Father Neal Dodd, St. Mary’s was established to minister to people working in the motion picture industry. It incorporated as a Religious Corporation under California law in 1930. Its articles of incorporation at that time stated that the corporation was formed “[t]o establish and maintain a Parish, which shall form a constituent part of the Diocese of Los Angeles in that branch of the Holy Catholic Church now known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.” That same year, the Parish built a church building using funds raised from its parishioners; title to the property was held in the name of the Parish. In January 1977, the Parish amended the articles of incorporation to remove the reference to the Protestant Episcopal Church and instead state that the purpose of the corporation is “[t]o establish and maintain a Parish, which shall form a constituent part of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church as that Church has been known in the Anglican Catholic tradition.”1 After St. Mary’s notified the Protestant Episcopal Church that it was withdrawing from the Episcopal Church,

1 The articles…