It shall and may be lawful for any religious denomination or society within this commonwealth to purchase, take, receive, and hold by deed, gift, grant, or otherwise, lands or tenements, for the purposes of burying grounds, churches, parsonages, school houses and alms-houses, for any estate whatsoever, and to have and to hold the same according to the respective rules and disciplinary regulations of said religious societies: Provided, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to permit any religious denomination or society, or any person in trust for them, unless specially authorized by its charter to purchase, take or hold real estate, except for the purposes aforesaid; and so much of the act of the sixth of February, 1730 and 1731, entitled “An act for the enabling religious societies of Protestants, within this province, to purchase lands for burying grounds, churches, houses of worship, schools and so forth,”¹ as is inconsistent herewith, be and the same is hereby repealed.