N.Y. Religious Corporations Law § 24: Government of churches incorporated prior to January first, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight

§ 24. Government of churches incorporated prior to January first,

eighteen hundred and twenty-eight. Any provision of this chapter shall

not be deemed to apply to any church incorporated under any general or

special law, prior to January first, eighteen hundred and twenty-eight,

if such provision is inconsistent with or in derogation of any of the

rights and privileges of such corporation as they existed under the law

by or pursuant to which such corporation was formed, unless such

corporation subsequent to such date, shall have lawfully reincorporated

under a law enacted since the first day of January, eighteen hundred and

twenty-eight, or unless the trustees of such corporation shall, by

resolution, determine that the provisions of this chapter applying to

churches of the same denomination and to the trustees thereof shall

apply to such church, and unless such resolution shall be submitted to

the next ensuing annual meeting of such church, and ratified by a

majority of the votes of the qualified voters present and voting

thereon. Notice of the adoption of such resolution and of the proposed

submission thereof for ratification, shall be given with the notice of

such annual meeting, and in addition thereto, mailed to each member of

such church corporation at his last known post-office address, at least

two weeks prior to such annual meeting, and published once a week for

two successive weeks immediately preceding such meeting in a newspaper,

if any, published in the city, village or town in which the principal

place of worship of such corporation is located, and otherwise in a

newspaper published in an adjoining town. If such resolution is so

ratified, the trustees of such church shall cause a certificate setting

forth a copy of such resolution, its adoption by the board of trustees

and its due ratification by the members of such corporation, to be filed

in the office of the clerk of the county in which the principal place of

worship of such corporation is located. Such county clerk shall cause

such certificate to be recorded in the book in which certificates of

incorporation of religious corporations are recorded in pursuance of

law.