Published: August 18, 2025
MONROVIA – The leadership of the historic St. Trowen Nagbe United Methodist Church has filed a lawsuit against the United Methodist Annual Conference at the Civil Law Court in Monrovia, asking the court to restore ownership and access to its property after the denomination sealed the congregation’s doors earlier this month.
The petition, lodged by Lay Leader Cooper Y. Tomah and the Board of Trustees, outlines 14 counts and argues that the conference’s enforcement of a revised doctrine on marriage contradicts Liberian law and unlawfully infringes on the congregation’s rights. The petition further claims that the closure of the church building amounts to coercion and violates members’ constitutional right to religious freedom under Article 14.
At issue is the denomination’s updated Book of Discipline (2020/2024), which redefines marriage as a covenant between “two adult persons of consenting age.” The S.T. Nagbe leadership maintains this new definition runs counter to Liberia’s Domestic Relations Law of 1973, which defines marriage strictly as a union between a man and a woman, and the Penal Law of 1978, which criminalizes homosexual practices.
The congregation insists that statutes passed by the Legislature override denominational policies, and it is asking the court to declare the revised marriage provision “null, void, and of no legal effect” in Liberia.
Background of the Conflict
The legal action comes less than two weeks after the Liberia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church ordered the temporary closure of the S.T. Nagbe edifice following chaotic scenes during worship. On Sunday, August 3, and again on August 10, members openly rejected clergy appointed by the conference and disrupted Holy Communion services.
In a strongly worded August 6 statement, Bishop Samuel J. Quire Jr. and the Executive Committee accused members of “hostile” behavior, saying the congregation had defied church authority and obstructed pastoral functions. “These actions stand in direct opposition to the teachings of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the values the United Methodist Church holds sacred: peace, love, accountability, order, and mutual respect,” the statement read.
Church leaders said the conflict reflects deeper divisions within the denomination, especially since the 2020–2024 General Conference of the global UMC, which reaffirmed marriage as between a man and a woman. In Liberia, however, reports indicate that factions within S.T. Nagbe have leaned toward affiliating with the breakaway Global Methodist Church, which holds a stricter doctrinal line.
The Liberia Annual Conference argued that repeated mediation efforts were rebuffed, prompting its decision to seal the S.T. Nagbe sanctuary and suspend all activities. Worship was redirected to other Methodist churches in Monrovia, with the District Superintendent authorized to appoint temporary officers.
A Historic Church in Crisis
Founded in memory of Bishop Stephen Trowen Nagbe, Liberia’s first Methodist bishop, S.T. Nagbe UMC has long been considered a spiritual landmark. Its closure has therefore resonated deeply across the denomination, underscoring the stakes of the present conflict.
While the conference maintains that the closure is protective and temporary—meant to preserve life, property, and sacred space—the church’s leadership views it as unlawful seizure. Their court petition seeks not only the reopening of the building but also judicial affirmation that Liberia’s civil law takes precedence over denominational policy.
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