A bishop who has become a corporation sole pursuant to this chapter shall be authorized to appoint an administrator to act for the corporation during the time as the bishopric shall for any reason be vacant. In the event a vacancy should occur in the bishopric and no administrator shall have been appointed, then the ecclesiastical authority to whom the bishop is spiritually subject shall have authority to appoint the administrator. An appointment of an administrator shall be in writing, signed by the maker, attested by at least two witnesses and acknowledged or proved, as provided for conveyances of land in this state. Upon the occurrence of a vacancy, the administrator may file in the office of the Secretary of State an application for certificate of administratorship, setting forth the vacancy and the administrator's appointment, which application shall be subscribed, sworn to, and certified like the original application for incorporation, and shall attach thereto and file therewith the appointment and the acknowledgment or proof thereof. Upon the filing of an application of an administrator or of a successor in a corporation sole, the Secretary of State shall record the same in an appropriate book of record in the office of the Secretary of State and shall issue to the applicant a certificate of administratorship or successorship, as the case may be, under the seal of the state and shall record the same with the application therefor. From the issue of the certificate of administratorship, and until the certificate of succession has issued, the administrator shall be authorized to act for the corporation in the place of the bishop. As soon as the certificate of succession provided for in Section 10A-20-1.05 is issued, the administrator shall account for his or her administration and turn over all the corporation's property to the successor.
Ala. Code § 10A-20-1.06 (1975)