THOMAS v. JOHNSON Et Al.

DOYLE, Presiding Judge.

Jane Thomas, as the presiding elder of the Sixth Episcopal District of Georgia of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (“the CME”), filed a petition for declaratory judgment and an injunction against Beulah Johnson, Marion Shannon, Jr., Thomas Howard, and Robert Hunt, seeking use and control of the Bethel Christian Methodist Church (“Bethel Church”). Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court entered final judgment in favor of the defendants. The CME appeals, and we vacate and remand the case for the reasons that follow.

In its petition, the CME, “a…