[Grammar] Infinitive structures

I wonder whether such constructions with infinitives other than TO BE are correct

I believe him to work there

OR

The church believed Bill to sin often

[bhaisahab]

Originally Posted by sterh

I wonder whether such constructions with infinitives other than TO BE are correct

I believe him to work there

OR

The church believed Bill to sin often

Both of these examples are wrong.

[philo2009]

The active construction 'believe smb. to V' in the contemporary language is generally limited to cases where V is either a stative verb (esp. 'be')

I believe him to be honest.

or an auxiliary

I believe him to have committed a terrible crime.

Other types of verb will tend to be unacceptable:

*I believe him to work as a doorman at the Ritz.

(--> I believe that he works...)

Interestingly, however, the corresponding passive construction tends to accept any type of verb, e.g.

He is believed to work as a doorman at the Ritz.