capable of making the same, and to use or lease, mortgage or sell and convey the same in such manner as they may judge most conducive to the interest of their respective churches, societies or congregations; provided, that nothing herein shall authorize any sale, mortgage or other disposition of any property held by such corporation under any instrument prohibiting such sale; and provided, the clear yearly income from the estate of any church, society or congregation, exclusive of the rents of pews, collections in churches, funeral charges and the like shall not exceed the sum of twenty thousand dollars. Erhardt v. Balto. Monthly Meeting, 93 Md. 681.

Ibid. sec. 207. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 158.

303. Every such body politic shall be chosen and the suc cession kept up at such times and places as are ordinarily used for public meetings of the said church, society or congregation, and by such persons as are allowed to have a voice in the management and direction of congregational or temporal concerns, according to the known custom and usage of their respective denominations; or the said body politic or corporate shall be chosen, and the succession kept up, according to the rules, regulations and practice that may have been heretofore adopted and agreed upon, or that shall be, at the first time of electing, agreed upon and adopted by any particular church, society or congregation for directing or managing their congregational or temporal affairs.

Erhardt v. Balto. Monthly Meeting, 93 Md. 681.

1888, art. 23, sec. 208. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 160.

304. The minister for the time being, or senior minister, where there are more than one settled in any church, society or congregation, shall always, in virtue of his ministry, be a mem ber of the body politic or corporate belonging to the same, exclusive of the number heretofore prescribed in Section 301.

Ibid. sec. 209. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 161.

305. If any contest shall arise in any church, society or congregation about the right of voting, or whether the election has been fairly conducted, agreeably to the true intent and meaning

of this article, the parties contending shall each of them choose one discreet and reputable person from amongst the members or trustees of some neighboring congregation or society of the same religious persuasion, if any such there be, and if none such, then of any other religious society, which two persons shall choose a third, qualified in like manner, and the said three persons shall meet at the place where the difference has arisen, and hear and determine upon the matter; and their judgment or award, or the judgment or award of a majority of them, certified under their hands and seals to the contending parties, shall be final.

Ibid. sec. 210. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 162.

306. At the first election or appointment of every body politic or corporate aforesaid, every church, society or corporation assembled as already directed, shall determine on their plan, agreement or regulation, specifying distinctly the time and manner of electing trustees, and the manner in which the succession shall be perpetuated, and containing an exact description of the qualifications of the persons severally electing and elected, and to elect and to be elected thereafter, and also the name, style or title of the corporation by which it shall thereafter be known, and the name of the church, society or congregation choosing the same.

Boyce v. Trustee, 46 Md. 372.

1888, art. 23, sec. 211. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 163. 1892, ch. 664. 307. The said plan, agreement or regulation shall be entered in the book hereinafter required by Section 310 to be kept by every such corporation, and the same shall be acknowledged by the trustees, or a majority of them, before a justice of the peace, notary public, or a judge of the Circuit Court in the counties, or a judge of the Supreme Bench of Baltimore city; and such justice, notary, or judge shall append to said instrument a certificate of such acknowledgment, and in all cases where through inadvertence or mistake such plan, agreement, or regulation has been heretofore acknowledged before one jus tice of the peace instead of two, such acknowledgment shall be

and is hereby made, to all intents and purposes, good and sufficient for the incorporation of the church, society or congregation named therein.

Ibid.

Ibid. sec. 212. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 164.

308. The plan or agreement, so acknowledged and certified, shall be filed by the said trustees with the clerk of the Circuit Court for the county where the said church, society or congregation, or the greater part of the members thereof reside, or the clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore city, if they or the greater part of the members reside in the city of Baltimore, within six months after such acknowledgment shall be made; and the same shall be recorded at the expense of the corporation, in a book to be kept for that special purpose.

Ibid. Reed v. Stouffer, 56 Md. 255.

Ibid. sec. 213. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 165.

309. If any change shall be made in the original plan, by authority of the congregation, such change shall, in the same manner, be acknowledged and recorded.

Ibid. sec. 214. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 166.

310. Every such corporation may appoint the times and places of the meeting of its members, and the number necessary to constitute a quorum, and shall provide and keep a good and sufficient record book, and cause therein to be registered all its proceedings, subject at all times to the inspection of the several members of the church, society or congregation; and the same shall be laid before a public meeting when required by any five or more of the members; and the said trustees, or a majority of them, shall have full power to frame such rules and ordinances for conducting their concerns as may be necessary and convenient for accomplishing the end of their institution.

1888, art. 23, sec. 215. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 167.

311. When any number of persons belonging to any church or congregation, sufficient to build a church or house of worship, and to maintain a minister, shall choose to separate

from the church or congregation of which they have hitherto been a part, and to erect a house of worship, and employ a minister for themselves, it shall be lawful for them to do so; and they shall by their respective name or style be entitled to all the benefits of this article relating to their incorporation; provided only, that all arrearages, debts and engagements contracted, due or becoming due, while members of the former society, shall be discharged.

Ibid. sec. 216. 1868, ch. 471, sec. 168.

312. The person or persons holding lands or goods and chattels in trust for any particular church or society shall convey the same to the corporation of such particular church or society, as soon as the same shall be formed under this article. Reed v. Stouffer, 56 Md. 255.

1892, ch. 614, sec. 217A.

313. In every congregation of the denomination of Christians known as the "Roman Catholic Church," the ordinary of the diocese and the pastor of the said congregation for the time being, according to the practice and discipline of the said. church, the other persons to be annually designated by said ordinary, and two other persons to be annually elected by the male pewholders of the said congregation from among their number (said annual election and appointment to be made on the Sunday next succeeding the first day of January in each and every year, and the incumbents to hold office until their respective successors shall be so as aforesaid elected or appointed, as the case may be), shall be constituted a body politic and corporate, under such title as may be assumed by the said corporation, and recorded in a certificate under the hands and seals of the corporators first chosen or otherwise entitled to office under the terms of this section, the said certificate to be acknowledged before a justice of the peace of the county or city of Baltimore, as the case may be, where the said congregation shall have or possess a place of worship, and recorded among the corporatiton records of the said county or city.

1908. ch. 240.

314. Every such corporation shall have, in addition to the powers conferred by Section 7 of this article, in so far as the said powers may be consistent with its general character, the further power to appoint the hour and place of the meetings at which the two of its members so as aforesaid to be annually elected shall be chosen, and the manner in which such election shall be held, and shall provide a good and sufficient record book, wherein shall be registered from time to time all of its proceedings, and which shall at all times be open to inspection by any member of the said congregation, or any ecclesiastical officer of the said denomination of Christians, having, accordto the discipline and practice thereof, authority over the said congregation, or the right to be informed concerning its management and interests of the said corporation; the pastor of the congregation for the time being (if any there be), shall always be president; it shall have power to frame such rules and ordinances for the orderly conduct of divine worship and the advancement of the interests of the congregation, as a majority of the corporation may from time to time deem necessary; provided that the same shall not conflict with the constitution or laws of the United States or of this State, or with the discipline and practice of the denomination aforesaid.

Ibid. sec. 217c.

315. If at any time one of the corporators so as aforesaid to be annually elected shall die, resign or become disqualified by ceasing to be a pewholder of the said church, it shall be competent for the remaining members of the said corporation to appoint a successor to the one so dying, resigning or becoming disqualified, which successor shall hold office until some one to fill his place shall be chosen at the next annual meeting of the said congregation; and if at any time the member so as aforesaid to be annually appointed by the ordinary of the diocese shall die or resign, it shall be competent for the said ordinary to fill the said vacancy in the corporation aforesaid, by ap pointing another person to serve for the remainder of the term of the one so dying or resigning, and until a successor thereto shall be duly chosen according to the terms of Section 313; and