Title RCO, Religious Corporations

§ 17. Property of extinct Free Baptist churches. The property both real and personal, belonging to or held in trust for any Free Baptist church, or Free Baptist religious society organized under the laws of the state of New York, that has become, or shall become extinct, shall v…

§ 17-a. Property of extinct Seventh Day Baptist churches and Seventh Day Baptist religious societies. 1. All property, both personal and real, belonging to or held in trust for any Seventh Day Baptist church or any Seventh Day Baptist religious society that has or shall become e…

§ 17-b. Property of extinct Presbyterian churches in connection with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Whenever the presbytery having jurisdiction over a particular church in connection with the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) dissolv…

§ 17-c. Property of Lutheran congregations. 1. Congregations of the Lutheran Church in America. The synod having jurisdiction over a particular congregation of the Lutheran Church in America, may declare defunct any congregation, belonging to the synod, which has disbanded, or h…

§ 170. Election and salary of ministers. The ministers of any such church shall be called, settled or removed and their salaries fixed, only by the vote of a majority of the members of such corporation duly qualified to vote at elections present and voting at a meeting of such c…

§ 171. Transfer of property. Any incorporated church of the United Church of Christ and any incorporated Congregational Christian church which is a member of the New York Conference of the United Church of Christ, created by or existing under the laws of the state of New York, h…

§ 172. Application of this article. This article applies only to churches of the United Church of Christ, Congregational Christian churches, whether or not part of the United Church of Christ, and Independent churches.

§ 175. Application for incorporation. Any Ukrainian Orthodox church may become incorporated in this state as a church of the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exile by executing, acknowledging and filing a certificate of incorporation as hereinafter provided.

§ 176. Notice of meeting for incorporation and provisions governing meetings for incorporation. 1. Notice of a meeting for the purpose of incorporating an unincorporated Ukrainian Orthodox church under this article shall be in writing and shall state in substance that a meeting …

§ 177. Certificate of incorporation. 1. The presiding officer of such meeting and at least two other persons present and voting thereat shall execute and acknowledge a certificate of incorporation which shall set forth the following: (a) The name of the proposed corporation. (b)…

§ 178. Government; powers and duties of the trustees. 1. Every Ukrainian Orthodox church incorporated pursuant to this article shall recognize and be subject to the jurisdiction of the duly appointed bishop or archbishop of the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church in Exil…

§ 179. Reincorporation of existing corporations. Any Ukrainian Orthodox church heretofore incorporated, other than those incorporated under the provisions of article five of the religious corporations law, may reincorporate under the provisions of this article, by filing in the …

§ 18. Dissolution of religious corporations. Whenever any religious corporation shall cease to act in its corporate capacity and keep up the religious services; it shall be lawful for the supreme court of this state, upon the application of a majority of the trustees thereof, in…

§ 180. Corporation, how formed. Any seven or more persons of full age, citizens of the United States, and a majority of them being residents of this state, who shall associate themselves for the purpose of founding and continuing one or more free churches, may make, sign and ack…

§ 181. Rights, powers and limitations. Upon the filing of such certificate the persons named therein as trustees, and their successors, being citizens of the United States and residents of this state, shall be a body politic and corporate, with all the rights, powers and duties,…

§ 182. Vacancies in boards of trustees. Any vacancies occurring in the said board of trustees shall be supplied by the remaining trustees at any legal meeting of the members; but there shall always be at least five members of the board who are not ministers of the gospel or prie…

§ 182-a. Increasing number of trustees. The number of trustees may be increased to not exceeding eleven by said board of trustees at any legal meeting of the members, whereupon a certificate of such increase shall be made, signed, acknowledged and filed by the existing trustees …

§ 183. Seats and pews to be free. The seats and pews in every church, building or edifice, owned or occupied by any corporation organized under this article, shall be forever free for the occupation and use, during public worship, of all persons choosing to occupy the same, and …

§ 184. Application of this article. This article applies only to Churches of Christ, Scientist and Christian Science Societies, which are branches of The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston, Massachusetts. Any such church or society heretofore incorporated shall hereaft…

§ 185. Notice of meeting for incorporation. Notice of a meeting for the purpose of incorporating an unincorporated Church of Christ, Scientist or Christian Science Society, shall be given as follows: The notice shall be in writing, and shall state, in substance, that a meeting o…

§ 186. Meeting for incorporation. At the meeting for incorporation held in pursuance of such notice, the following persons, and no others, shall be qualified voters, to wit: All persons of full age, who are then members in good and regular standing of such church or society by a…

§ 187. Certificate of incorporation. If the meeting shall decide that such unincorporated church or society shall become incorporated, the presiding officer of such meeting and the two inspectors of election, shall execute and acknowledge a certificate of incorporation, setting …

§ 188. Time, place and notice of corporate meetings. The annual corporate meeting of every incorporated church or society to which this article is applicable shall be held at the time and place fixed by its by-laws. A special corporate meeting of any such church or society may b…

§ 189. Organization and conduct of corporate meetings; qualifications of voters thereat. At a corporate meeting of every incorporated church or society to which this article is applicable, the following persons, and no others, shall be qualified voters, to wit: All persons who a…

§ 189-a. Changing date of annual corporate meetings. Any incorporated church or society to which this article is applicable, at any annual meeting may change the date of its subsequent annual meetings. If the date fixed for the annual meeting shall be less than six months after …

§ 189-b. Changing number of trustees. Any incorporated church or society to which this article is applicable may, at an annual corporate meeting, change the number of its trustees to any number from three to twelve and classify them so that the terms of one-third as nearly as po…

§ 189-c. Meetings of trustees. The chairman of the board of trustees of any incorporated church or society to which this article is applicable or any two members of such board may call a meeting of such trustees by giving at least twenty-four hours' notice thereof, personally or…

§ 19. Corporations for organizing and maintaining mission churches and Sunday schools. Ten or more members of two or more incorporated churches may become a corporation for the purpose of organizing and maintaining mission churches and Sunday schools, and of acquiring property t…

§ 190. Application of this article. This article is not applicable to a Baptist church, a Congregational Christian church, whether or not a part of the United Church of Christ, a church of the United Church of Christ incorporated after September first, nineteen hundred seventy-o…

§ 191. Notice of meeting for incorporation. Notice of a meeting for the purpose of incorporating an unincorporated church, to which this article is applicable, shall be given as follows: The notice shall be in writing, and shall state, in substance, that a meeting of such uninco…

§ 192. The meeting for incorporation. At the meeting for incorporation held in pursuance of such notice, the following persons, and no others, shall be qualified voters, to wit: All persons of full age, who are then members in good and regular standing of such church by admissio…

§ 193. The certificate of incorporation. The presiding officer of such meeting and at least two other persons present and voting thereat, shall execute and acknowledge a certificate of incorporation, setting forth the matters so determined at such meeting, the trustees elected t…

§ 194. Time, place and notice of corporate meetings. The annual corporate meeting of every incorporated church to which this article is applicable, shall be held at the time and place fixed by or in pursuance of law therefor, if such time and place be so fixed, and otherwise, at…

§ 195. Organization and conduct of corporate meetings; qualification of voters thereat. At a corporate meeting of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable the following persons, and no others, shall be qualified voters, to wit: All persons who are then members …

§ 196. Changing date of annual corporate meetings. An annual corporate meeting of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, may change the date of its annual meeting thereafter. If such date shall next thereafter occur less than six months after the annual meet…

§ 197. Changing number of trustees. An incorporated church to which this article is applicable, may, at an annual corporate meeting, change the number of its trustees to three, six, nine, twelve, fifteen, eighteen, twenty-one or twenty-four, or classify them so that the terms of…

§ 198. Meetings of trustees. Two of the trustees of an incorporated church, to which this article is applicable, may call a meeting of such trustees, by giving at least twenty-four hours' notice thereof personally or by mail to the other trustees. A majority of the trustees lawf…

§ 199. Vacancies among trustees. If any trustee of an incorporated church to which this article is applicable, declines to act, resigns or dies, or having been a member of such church, ceases to be such member, or not having been a member of such church, ceases to be a qualified…

§ 2. Definitions. A "Religious Corporations Law corporation" is a corporation created for religious purposes to which this chapter applies under section two-a of this chapter. Unless the context otherwise requires, whenever "religious corporation" or "corporation" is used in thi…

§ 2-a. Application. This chapter applies (a) to every corporation heretofore or hereafter formed under this chapter, and (b) to every corporation formed under any other statute or special act of this state which would, if it were to be formed currently under the laws of this sta…

§ 2-b. Applicability of not-for-profit corporation law. 1. The not-for-profit corporation law applies to every corporation to which this chapter applies, provided that: (a) If any provision of the not-for-profit corporation law conflicts with any provision of this chapter, the p…

§ 20. Corporations for acquiring parsonages for district superintendents and camp-meeting grounds. The district superintendent and a majority of the district stewards residing within a district erected by an annual conference of The United Methodist Church, may become incorporat…

§ 200. Control of trustees by corporate meetings; salaries of ministers. A corporate meeting of an incorporated church, whose trustees are elective as such, may give directions, not inconsistent with law, as to the manner in which any of the temporal affairs of the church shall …

§ 201-a Incorporation of the Religious Society of Friends. An unincorporated meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in this state may be incorporated by executing, acknowledging and filing a certificate of incorporation, stating the corporate name by which such meeting shal…

§ 202. Trusts for Shakers and Friends. All deeds or declarations of trust of real or personal property, executed and delivered before January first, eighteen hundred and thirty, or since May fifth, eighteen hundred and thirty-nine, to any person in trust for any United Society o…

§ 203. Conveyance or incumbrance of trust property of Friends. The trustee or trustees, or survivor of any trustees, of any meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, appointed pursuant to the last preceding section, may sell, convey and grant, mortgage, or demise any or all o…

§ 204-b. Change of name of churches and affiliated and subsidiary organizations of the church of the United Brethren in Christ and the Evangelical Church. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter or of any general, special or local law, the two denominations known as the Ch…

§ 205. Presiding officer. Nothing contained in this article shall prevent the qualified voters at any meeting held pursuant to this article or in this article described, from choosing a person to preside at any such meeting, other than the person or officer designated in this ar…

§ 206. Termination and dissolution of churches of the General Assembly of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Inc. whose churches are individually known as "Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)" or "Church of Christ (Disciples of Christ)" and affiliated religious socie…

§ 207. The number of trustees of Jewish congregations and voting by proxy at certain meetings thereof. A congregation of the Jewish faith may at any general or special corporate meeting thereof change the number of its trustees to not more than seventy-two and classify them so t…