*237.* _Sold, Rented._—Prior to the Reformation pews were not sold nor
rented and every member had the right to sit wherever he pleased in the
body of the church. After the Reformation, the ordinary or bishop was
granted the right of “faculty” to rent or sell pews.(424)
*238.* _Incorporeal Hereditament._—The English title in a pew is in the
nature of a right of way through another’s land; it is an incorporeal
hereditament. In the absence of express law, the title to pews in this
country is said to be in the nature of real estate, and in fact not very
different from the English title.(425) In some States the title is made
personal property by statute.(426) And in others the courts have inquired
into the law of the church and adjudged the title accordingly.(427) The
general rule is that the owner of a pew simply has an easement.(428)
*239.* _Catholic Church, Pew Rights._—In the Catholic Church, by the canon
law, the ownership in or control over a pew is forbidden to laymen.
Notwithstanding that, if the party holding the title violates the rule of
the church by giving a deed to the pew-holder, the courts would probably
sustain his title.(429) However, as the clergy can neither rent nor sell
pews without becoming subject to the law of the land and the jurisdiction
of our courts, it is important to know what the law of the State is.
*240.* _Land, Use, Rent Pews._—Where land was conveyed in trust to the
bishop of a diocese and his successors for the erection of a church for
the use of a congregation, the right to rent pews vested under the deed
and laws of the Catholic Church in the parish priest and not in the
trustees afterward elected, as the parish priest was the agent of the
bishop.(430)
*241.* _Trustees, Sale in Perpetuity._—Without authority of law the
trustees of a church can not make an absolute sale in perpetuity of a pew
without any reservation of rent.(431) The sale of a pew in a church will
be determined in a case according to the particular facts.(432)
*242.* _Pew, Right to Occupy, Conditions._—A grant of a church pew in
perpetuity does not give the owner an absolute right of property as a
grant of land in fee; but gives only a right to sit therein, although he
may maintain an action in court for protection of his rights.(433) In
Vermont a pewholder has only the right to occupy his seat during religious
services and holds it subject to the superior right of the society owning
the pew.(434) A condition in the deed to a pew that a holder about to
leave the congregation shall offer it to the society for a certain price,
is not invalid.(435) Where a pewholder held his pew by a certain agreement
and after the church had been remodeled he bought a different pew, the
conditions attached to the first pew did not apply to the last.(436) Pews
owned by the occupant pass to the heirs as real estate instead of going to
the executors as personal property in States where the title is in the
nature of the title to real estate.(437)
*243.* _Tax, Assessment._—A tax assessed upon the pew of a religious
corporation in part for purposes not specifically named in a deed of the
pew, which alone gives the power to make such an assessment and which
strictly defines and limits such power, is invalid _in toto_.(438) The
right to make an assessment on pews must be founded upon law, else it can
not be enforced.(439) When a congregation sells pews at auction rent free
for the purpose of building a church, it has no power thereafter to assess
the pews for the salary of the minister.(440)
*244.* _Pewholders’ Rights._—A pewholder has the exclusive right to occupy
his pew when the house is used for the purpose for which it was erected;
but he can not convert his pew to other purposes not contemplated.(441) If
he has paid his pew-rent according to agreement, he is entitled to use his
pew on all occasions when the house is occupied, even when it is open for
purposes different from those mentioned in the conveyance thereof; and he
has the right to exclude all others from his pew by fastening the door or
otherwise, and any one who enters his pew knowing the facts, is a
trespasser and liable to an action for damages.(442) The owner of a pew
has no right to put an offensive covering thereon nor use his pew in any
way to the annoyance of the congregation or not in keeping with the place
and conditions. By placing anything offensive about his pew, he may be
liable for maintaining a nuisance, and such offensive thing may be
removed; but, as far as possible, it must be removed without damaging the
pewholder’s property.(443)
*245.* _Rebuilding, Remodeling._—An injunction was granted on the bill of
pewholders, restraining the authorities of the church from pulling it
down, as they were going to use the materials in the erection of a new
church on a different site. On the answer, the injunction was dissolved on
the ground that if the complainants had rights which would be violated,
there was a remedy at law and that the nature and extent of the injury
were not such as called for the interposition of a court of equity by
injunction.(444) Where a parish abandons an old church and builds a new
one it does not become liable to any pewholder for damages by reason
thereof unless it has acted wantonly or intentionally to injure the
pewholder.(445) But when it becomes necessary for the purpose of repairing
or remodeling a church, to destroy old pews, a pew built by a member under
contract with the church can not be removed or destroyed without
compensation.(446) Pew rights are subject to the right of the parish to
pull down and rebuild a church either as a matter of necessity or
expediency, but in the latter case the owner of a pew is entitled to
payment.(447) A pewholder has only the right to occupy his pew during
public worship, and when the church has become so out of repair that it
can not be used for public worship, the owner of a pew can recover only
nominal damages for injuries to his pew.(448)
*246.* _Selling Pew on Execution._—In an action to recover the value of a
pew sold at auction, the merits of the case will be tried according to the
law of the land.(449) It is doubtful whether a pew in a church can be sold
for private debts of the pewholder.(450) It depends somewhat upon the
title and State law of exemptions.(451) To render an attachment of a pew
valid, it is not necessary for the officer to come in sight of the pew or
even to enter the church.(452)
*247.* _Members, Pew._—Members of the congregation may be required to pay
for a pew or sitting in the church, and where a priest ejected a member
from the church because he would not rent a pew, he was sustained by the
court.(453)
*248.* _Free Church, Seats, Lease._—The trustees of a free church may
assign seats and forcibly remove one from a seat without authority.(454)
Where a pew is real estate, a pewholder may acquire the right to it by
prescription in the usual way.(455) Where pews are not rented and the
members support the church by voluntary subscriptions, they have equal
right to the occupancy of the pews. But where the church builds the pews
and rents them, a man paying rent for a pew holds it under lease in the
nature of a lease to real estate. However, he does not obtain all the
rights of a lessee of land, and in many cases a rule of the church governs
the holding of pews, which will be observed by the State courts.(456)
*249.* _Executors, Pew-Rent._—The executors of a pew owner are not bound
to pay pew-rent accrued after the owner’s death.
*250.* _Voting, Pew-Rent, Arrears._—Where a church is incorporated and by
its charter or the laws of the State it has authority to make reasonable
by-laws, a by-law which prohibits any person from voting whose pew-rent is
in arrears for more than two years, is valid.(457)