Franzen v. Poulos

COPE, Judge.

This is an appeal from an order entering a temporary injunction in a dispute regarding internal church governance in a hierarchical church. We reverse.

Reverend George E. Poulos, Jr., was the minister of Christ the King Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Church is a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, a national church body. The national church is hierarchically organized. It is divided into regions, referred to as Synods, each Synod being led by a Bishop. Each Synod is in turn divided into Conferences, each Conference being headed by a Dean. Within each conference…