Bishop as Corporation Sole

Reforming Corp Sole For the Glory of God – A Message from Bishop John Harvey Taylor – Click Here.

The Bishop as a Corporation Sole—a legal entity usually called by the shortened name of “Corp Sole”— consists of money given to the Bishop of Los Angeles through bequests and gifts throughout the history of the Diocese. Some of Corp Sole’s funds are designated for particular uses: for example, certain monies are to be used only for ministry among African Americans, or for seminary scholarships, campus ministry, clergy assistance or Native American ministries. Other funds are unrestricted, and may be used at the bishop’s discretion, such as assisting with the immigration requirements of new clergy and clergy families, supporting clergy with professional therapy or counseling, paying for extraordinary occurrences such as the legal expense associated with the recovery of four parish properties after a majority of members voted in 2004 to disaffiliate with the Episcopal Church, or providing grants to newly ordained clergy as they are entering ministry here in the Diocese of Los Angeles.

Rather than being controlled by a board of directors or other entity, Corp Sole is the legal responsibility of the Bishop of Los Angeles, the elected incumbent in office. At present, Bishop Diocesan John Harvey Taylor seeks the advice of the Bishop Suffragan Diane Jardine Bruce and a group of skilled laypeople to administer the funds, although the legal responsibility is his alone.

Since the establishment of Corp Sole in 1907, bishops of the Diocese have granted funds for certain ministries some of which were also partially funded by the Mission Share Fund budget. In 2018, diocesan convention received a consolidated budget showing contributions of Corp Sole, the Corporation of the Diocese, and MSF revenue primarily from pledges of parish and mission congregations.

 2016 Corporation Sole audit report is here.