The New York Court of Appeals determined last month what constituted an "officiating clergyman" as set forth in Real Property Tax Law Section 462 in Matter of Word of Life Ministries v. Nassau County (see prior post).  In determining that certain clergymen were to get a statutory tax exemption for their residences, the Court noted that it looked outward to a cleric’s relationship with his or her congregation, and not to the hierarchical structure of the various clergypersons — that is, whether the clergyperson officiates over the church’s ecclesiastical services.