Jones Memorial Baptist Church v. Brackeen

Opinion by

Mr. Justice Jones,

A regrettable controversy between a church and its pastor is the background of this appeal.. On January 23, 1964, the Jones Memorial Baptist Church, Philadelphia (Church), acting through the chairmen of its Board of Deacons and its Board of Trustees, instituted an equity action against the pastor of the Church, S. Amos Brackeen (pastor), in the Court of Common Pleas No. 2 of Philadelphia County. In its complaint, the Church averred, inter alia, that: (1) the pastor had “pursued a course of conduct which [had] brought dissension among the church membership and…