About 20 people gathered in the sanctuary at St. Mary's Holy Apostolic Catholic Church of the East on Monday, watching as locks that had been changed Thursday evening by a rival group loyal to Iraq-based Patriarch Mar Addai II were changed back again by the church's board of directors.It was the same board that the patriarch fired Sunday. He also removed the priest at the service, which drew a fraction of the usual Sunday attendance.
"Now the priest is fired, and they sent all the board of directors a certified letter saying they not only were fired, but they can't go to church there," said Kay Maksoud, vice president of the board. "We didn't want to make more problems, so we just let them meet."
Modesto attorney Jakrun (Jack) Sodhi said removing the board without a vote goes against the church's bylaws and constitution, and that banning board members from the church is "absolutely illegal. You can't tell church members they can't enter a church that they are members of."
The Assyrian church has been in a tussle with the patriarch — similar to a pope — of their denomination, the Ancient Church of the East, for the past couple of years over $250,000 loaned to a Canadian parish and over allegations of sexual misconduct by the patriarch.
The patriarch, who is headquartered in Baghdad, arrived in Ceres on Friday and is scheduled to depart later this week for Chicago, where he reportedly will install a new priest in another troubled parish.
The situation in Hughson heated up last week when the patriarch's secretary, Bishop Mar Zaya, arrived.
Last Tuesday, a handful of people supporting the patriarch managed to transfer $90,000 in church funds from a local bank before the board discovered the action and reclaimed the money.
According to video cameras, at 9 p.m. Thursday, a similar group of people faithful to the patriarch met a Modesto locksmith at the church and changed the locks.
The group also put tinfoil and linen on the 10 security cameras and yanked out an alarm system.
Monday afternoon, Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy Wayne Whitfield responded to a call from the church to survey the damage. "I can't arrest anyone until we know who owns the church," he told church members, who hired a different locksmith to replace the locks again. "We won't know who owns the church until Aug. 14."
That's when a hearing on a restraining order filed by the church board against the patriarch and his supporters will be heard in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
"It's unfortunate," Sodhi said. "We were hoping to avoid this rather than dragging everyone into court."
The Assyrian church has been in a tussle with the patriarch — similar to a pope — of their denomination, the Ancient Church of the East, for the past couple of years over $250,000 loaned to a Canadian parish and over allegations of sexual misconduct by the patriarch.
The patriarch, who is headquartered in Baghdad, arrived in Ceres on Friday and is scheduled to depart later this week for Chicago, where he reportedly will install a new priest in another troubled parish.
The situation in Hughson heated up last week when the patriarch's secretary, Bishop Mar Zaya, arrived.
Last Tuesday, a handful of people supporting the patriarch managed to transfer $90,000 in church funds from a local bank before the board discovered the action and reclaimed the money.
According to video cameras, at 9 p.m. Thursday, a similar group of people faithful to the patriarch met a Modesto locksmith at the church and changed the locks.
The group also put tinfoil and linen on the 10 security cameras and yanked out an alarm system.
Monday afternoon, Stanislaus County sheriff's deputy Wayne Whitfield responded to a call from the church to survey the damage. "I can't arrest anyone until we know who owns the church," he told church members, who hired a different locksmith to replace the locks again. "We won't know who owns the church until Aug. 14."
That's when a hearing on a restraining order filed by the church board against the patriarch and his supporters will be heard in Stanislaus County Superior Court.
"It's unfortunate," Sodhi said. "We were hoping to avoid this rather than dragging everyone into court."