PART II

THE RULES OF DISCIPLINE

 

CHAPTER 27

 Discipline -- Its Nature, Subjects and Ends

27-1.       Discipline is the exercise of authority given the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ to instruct and guide its members and to promote its purity and welfare.

            The term has two senses:

a.   the one referring to the whole government, inspection, training, guardianship and control which the church maintains over its members, its officers and its courts;

b.   the other a restricted and technical sense, signifying judicial process.

 

27-2.    All baptized persons, being members of the Church are subject to its discipline and entitled to the benefits thereof.

 

27-3.    The exercise of discipline is highly important and necessary.  In its proper usage discipline maintains:

a.   the glory of God,

b.   the purity of His Church,

c.    the keeping and reclaiming of disobedient sinners.  Discipline is for the purpose of godliness (1 Timothy 4:7); therefore, it demands a self-examination under Scripture.

            Its ends, so far as it involves judicial action, are the rebuke of offenses, the removal of scandal, the vindication of the honor of Christ, the promotion of the purity and general edification of the Church, and the spiritual good of offenders themselves.

 

27-4.    The power which Christ has given the Church is for building up, and not for destruction.  It is to be exercised   as under a dispensation of mercy and not of wrath.  As in the preaching of the Word the wicked are doctrinally separated from the good, so by discipline the Church authoritatively separates between the holy and the profane.  In this it acts the part of a tender mother, correcting her children for their good, that every one of them may be presented faultless in the day of the Lord Jesus.  Discipline is systematic training under the authority of God’s Scripture.  No communing or non-communing member of the Church should be allowed to stray from the Scripture’s discipline.  Therefore, teaching elders must:

a.   instruct the officers in discipline,

b.   instruct the congregation in discipline,

            c.  jointly practice it in the context of the congregation and church courts.

 

27-5.    Scriptural law is the basis of all discipline because it is the revelation of God’s Holy will.

            Proper disciplinary principles are set forth in the Scriptures and must be followed.  They are: 

a.   Instruction in the Word;

b.   Individual’s responsibility to admonish one another (Matthew 18:15, Galatians 6:1);

c.    If the admonition is rejected, then the calling of one or more witnesses (Matthew 18:16);

d.   If rejection persists, then the Church must act through her court unto admonition, suspension, excommunication and deposition (See BCO 29 and 30 for further explanation). 

            Steps (a) through (d) must be followed in proper order for the exercise of discipline.

 

 

 CHAPTER 28

          Disciplining of Noncommuning Members.

 

28-1.    The spiritual nurture, instruction and training of the children of the Church are committed by God primarily to their parents.  They are responsible to the Church for the faithful discharge of their obligations.  It is a principal duty of the Church to promote true religion in the home.  True discipleship involves learning the Word of God under the guidance of the Holy Spirit both at home and in the Church.  Without learning there is no growth and without growth there is no discipline and without discipline there is sin and iniquity (1 Timothy 4:7).

 

28-2.    The home and the Church should also make special provision for instructing the children in the Bible and in the church Catechisms.  To this end Sessions should establish and conduct under their authority Sunday schools and Bible classes, and adopt such other methods as may be found helpful.  The Session shall encourage the parents of the Church to guide their children in the catechising and disciplining of them in the Christian religion.

 

28-3.    The Church should maintain constant and sympathetic relations with the children.  It also should encourage them, on coming to years of discretion, to make confession of the Lord Jesus Christ and to enter upon all privileges of full church membership.  If they are wayward they should be cherished by the church and every means used to reclaim them.

 

28-4.    Adult non-communing members, who receive with meekness and appreciation the oversight and instruction of the Church, are entitled to special attention.  Their rights and privileges under the covenant should be frequently and fully explained, and they should be warned of the sin and danger of neglecting their covenant obligations.

 

28-5.    All non-communing members shall be deemed under the care of the church to which their parents belong, if they live under the parental roof and are minors; otherwise, under that of the church where they reside, or with which they ordinarily worship.

 

CHAPTER 29

 Offenses

 

29-1.    An offense, the proper object of judicial process, is anything in the doctrines or practice of a Church member professing faith in Christ which is contrary to the Word of God.  The Confession of Faith and the Larger and Shorter Catechisms of the Westminster Assembly, together with the formularies of government, discipline, and worship are accepted by the Presbyterian Church in America as standard expositions of the teachings of Scripture in relation to both faith and practice.  Nothing, therefore, ought to be considered by any court as an offense, or admitted as a matter of accusation, which cannot be proved to be such from Scripture.

 

29-2.    Offenses are either personal or general, private or public; but all of them being sins against God, are therefore grounds of discipline.

 

29-3.    Personal offenses are violations of the divine law, considered in the special relation of wrongs or injuries to particular individuals.  General offenses are heresies or immoralities having no such relation, or considered apart from it.

 

29-4.    Private offenses are those which are known only to a few persons.  Public offenses are those which are notorious.

 

chapter 30

 Church Censures

 

30-1.    The censures, which may be inflicted by church courts, are admonition, suspension from the Sacraments, excommunication, suspension from office, and deposition from office.  The censures of admonition or definite suspension from office shall be administered to an accused who, upon conviction, satisfies the court as to his repentance and makes such restitution as is appropriate.  Such censure concludes the judicial process.  The censures of indefinite suspension or excommunication shall be administered to an accused who, upon conviction, remains impenitent.

 

30-2.    Admonition is the formal reproof of an offender by a church court, warning him of his guilt and danger, and exhorting him to be more circumspect and watchful in the future.

 

30-3.    Suspension from Sacraments is the temporary exclusion from those ordinances, and is indefinite as to its duration.  There is no definite suspension from the Sacraments.

            Suspension from office is the exclusion of a church officer from his office.  This may be definite or indefinite as to its duration.  With respect to church officers, suspension from Sacraments shall always be accompanied by suspension from office.  But suspension from office is not always necessarily accompanied with suspension from Sacraments.

            Definite suspension from office is administered when the credit of religion, the honor of Christ, and the good of the delinquent demand it, even though the delinquent has given satisfaction to the court.

            Indefinite suspension is administered to the impenitent offender until he exhibits signs of repentance, or until by his conduct, the necessity of the greatest censure be made manifest.  In the case of indefinite suspension from office imposed due to scandalous conduct, the procedure outlined in BCO 34-8 shall be followed.

 

30-4.    Excommunication is the excision of an offender from the communion of the Church.  This censure is to be inflicted only on account of gross crime or heresy and when the offender shows himself incorrigible and contumacious.  The design of this censure is to operate on the offender as a means of reclaiming him, to deliver the church from the scandal of his offense, and to inspire all with fear by the example of his discipline.

 

30-5.    Deposition is the degradation of an officer from his office, and may or may not be accompanied with the infliction of other censure.

 

CHAPTER 31

 The Parties in Cases of Process

 

31-1.    Original jurisdiction (the right first or initially to hear and determine) in relation to ministers of the Gospel shall be in the Presbytery of which the minister is a member, except in cases as provided in BCO   34-1.  Such original jurisdiction in relation to church members shall be in the Session of the church of which he/she is a member, except in cases as provided in BCO 33-1.

 

31-2.    It is the duty of all church Sessions and Presbyteries to exercise care over those subject to their authority.  They shall with due diligence and great discretion demand from such persons satisfactory explanations concerning reports affecting their Christian character.  This duty is more imperative when those who deem themselves aggrieved by injurious reports shall ask an investigation.

            If such investigation, however originating, should result in raising a strong presumption of the guilt of the party involved, the court shall institute process, and shall appoint a prosecutor to prepare the indictment and to conduct the case.  This prosecutor shall be a member of the court, except that in a case before the Session, he may be any communing member of the same congregation with the accused.

 

31-3.    The original and only parties in a case of process are the accuser and the accused.  The accuser is always the Presbyterian Church in America, whose honor and purity are to be maintained.  The prosecutor, whether voluntary or appointed, is always the representative of the Church, and as such has all its rights in the case.  In appellate courts the parties are known as appellant and appellee.

 

31-4.    Every indictment shall begin:  “In the name of the Presbyterian Church in America,” and shall conclude, “against the peace, unity and purity of the Church, and the honor and majesty of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the King and Head thereof.”  In every case the Church is the injured and accusing party, against the accused.

31-5.    An injured party shall not become a prosecutor of personal offenses without having tried the means of reconciliation and of reclaiming the offender, required by Christ.

            “Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:  if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother but if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established”  (Matthew 18:15-16).

            A church court, however, may judicially investigate personal offenses as if general when the interest of religion seem to demand it.  So, also, those to whom private offenses are known cannot become prosecutors without having previously endeavored to remove the scandal by private means.

 

31-6.    When the offense is general, the case may be conducted either by any person appearing as prosecutor or by a prosecutor appointed by the court.

 

31-7.    When the prosecution is instituted by the court, the previous steps required by our Lord in the case of personal offenses are not necessary.  There are many cases, however, in which it will promote the interests of religion to send a committee to converse in a private manner with the offender, and endeavor to bring him to a sense of his guilt, before instituting actual process.

 

31-8.    Great caution ought to be exercised in receiving accusations from any person who is known to indulge a malignant spirit towards the accused; who is not of good character; who is himself under censure or process; who is deeply interested in any respect in the conviction of the accused; or who is known to be litigious, rash or highly imprudent.

 

31-9.    Every voluntary prosecutor shall be previously warned, that if he fail to show probable cause of the charges, he may himself be censured as a slanderer of the brethren.

 

31-10.  When a member of a church court is under process, all his official functions may be suspended at the court’s discretion; but this shall never be done in the way of censure.

 

31-11.  In the discussion of all questions arising in his own case, the accused shall exercise the rights of defendant only, not of judge.

  

CHAPTER 32

 General Provisions Applicable to all Cases of Process

 

32-1.    It is incumbent on every member of a court of Jesus Christ engaged in a trial of offenders, to bear in mind the inspired injunction:

“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted”  (Galatians 6:1).

 

32-2.    Process against an offender shall not be commenced unless some person or persons undertake to make out the charge; or unless the court finds it necessary, for the honor of religion, itself to take the step provided for in BCO 31-2.

 

32-3.    It is appropriate that with each citation the moderator or clerk call the attention of the parties to the Rules of Discipline (BCO 27 through 46) and assist the parties to obtain access to them.  When a charge is laid before the Session or Presbytery, it shall be reduced to writing, and nothing shall be done at the first meeting of the court, unless by consent of parties, except:

1.   to appoint a prosecutor,

2.   to order the indictment drawn and a copy, along with names of witnesses then known to support it, served on the accused, and

3.   to cite the accused to appear and be heard at another meeting which shall not be sooner than ten days after such citation. 

            At the second meeting of the court the charges shall be read to the accused, if present, and he shall be called upon to say whether he be guilty or not. 

            If the accused confesses, the court may deal with him according to its discretion; if he plead and take issue, the trial shall be scheduled and all parties and their witnesses cited to appear.  The trial shall not be sooner than fourteen (14) days after such citation. 

            Accused parties may plead in writing when they cannot be personally present.  Parties necessarily absent should have counsel assigned to them.

  

32-4.    The citation shall be issued and signed by the moderator or clerk by order and in the name of the court.  He shall also issue citations to such witnesses as either party shall nominate to appear on his behalf.  Indictments and citations shall be delivered in person or in another manner providing verification of the date of receipt.  Compliance with these requirements shall be deemed to have been fulfilled if a party cannot be located after diligent inquiry or if a party refuses to accept delivery.

 

32-5.    In drawing the indictment, the times, places and circumstances should, if possible, be particularly stated, that the accused may have an opportunity to make his defense.

 

32-6.    a.  When an accused person shall refuse to obey a citation, he shall be cited a second time.  This second citation shall be accompanied with a notice that if he does not appear at the time appointed (unless providentially hindered, which fact he must make known to the court) he shall be dealt with for his contumacy (cf. BCO 33-2; 34-4).

            b.  When an accused person shall appear and refuse to plead, or otherwise refuse to cooperate with lawful proceedings, he shall be dealt with for his contumacy (cf. BCO 33-2; 34-4).

 

32-7.    The time which must elapse between the serving of the first citation on the accused person, and the meeting of the court at which he is to appear, shall be at least ten (10) days.  The time allotted for his appearance on the subsequent citation shall be left to the discretion of the court, provided that it be quite sufficient for a seasonable and convenient compliance with the citation.

 

32-8.    When the offense with which an accused person stands charged took place at a distance, and it is inconvenient for the witnesses to appear before the court having jurisdiction, that court may either appoint a commission of its body, or request the coordinate court contiguous to the place where the facts occurred to take the testimony for it.  The accused shall always have reasonable notice of the time and place of the meeting of this commission or coordinate court.

 

32-9.    When an offense, alleged to have been committed at a distance, is not likely otherwise to become known to the court having jurisdiction, it shall be the duty of the court within whose bounds the facts occurred, after satisfying itself that there is probable ground for accusation, to send notice to the court having jurisdiction, which shall at once proceed against the accused; or the whole case may be remitted for trial to the coordinate court within whose bounds the offense is alleged to have been committed.

 

32-10.  Before proceeding to trial, courts ought to ascertain that their citations have been duly served.

 

32-11.  In every process, if deemed expedient there may be a committee appointed, which shall be called the Judicial Committee, and whose duty it shall be to digest and arrange all the papers, and to prescribe, under the direction of the court, the whole order of the proceedings.  The members of this committee shall be entitled, notwithstanding their performance of this duty, to sit and vote in the case as members of the court.

 

32-12.  When the trial is about to begin, it shall be the duty of the moderator solemnly to announce from the chair that the court is about to pass to the consideration of the case, and to enjoin on the members to recollect and regard their high character as judges of a court of Jesus Christ, and the solemn duty in which they are about to engage.

 

32-13.  In order that the trial may be fair and impartial, the witnesses shall be examined in the presence of the accused, or at least after he shall have received due citation to attend.  Witnesses may be cross-examined by both parties, and any questions asked must be pertinent to the issue.

 

32-14.  On all questions arising in the progress of a trial, the discussion shall first be between the parties; and when they have been heard, they may be required to withdraw from the court until the members deliberate upon and decide the point.

  

32-15.              When a court of first resort proceeds to the trial of a case, the following order shall be observed: 

1.   The moderator shall charge the court. 

2.   The indictment shall be read, and the answer of the accused heard.

3.   The witnesses for the prosecutor and then those for the

      accused shall be examined. 

4.   The parties shall be heard:  first, the prosecutor, and then the

      accused, and the prosecutor shall close. 

5.   The roll shall be called, and the members may express their

      opinion in the case. 

6.   The vote shall be taken, the verdict announced and judgment

      entered on the records.

 

32-16.  Either party may, for cause, challenge the right of any member to sit in the trial of the case, which question shall be decided by the other members of the court.

 

32-17.  Pending the trial of a case, any member of the court who shall express his opinion of its merits to either party, or to any person not a member of the court; or who shall absent himself from any sitting without the permission of the court, or satisfactory reasons rendered, shall be thereby disqualified from taking part in the subsequent proceedings.

 

32-18.  Minutes of the trial shall be kept by the clerk, which shall exhibit the charges, the answer, record of the testimony, as defined by BCO 35-7, and all such acts, orders, and decisions of the court relating to the case, as either party may desire, and also the judgment.

            The clerk shall without delay assemble the Record of the Case which shall consist of the charges, the answer, the citations and returns thereto, and the minutes herein required to be kept. 

            The parties shall be allowed copies of the Record of the Case at their own expense if they demand them.

            When a case is removed by appeal or complaint, the lower court shall transmit “the Record” thus prepared to the higher court with the addition of the notice of appeal or complaint, and the reasons therefor, if any shall have been filed.

            Nothing which is not contained in this “Record” shall be taken into consideration by the higher court.  On the final decision of a case in a higher court, the judgment shall be sent down to the court in which the case originated.

 

32-19.  No professional counsel shall be permitted as such to appear and plead in cases of process in any court; but an accused person may, if he desires it, be represented before the Session by any communing member of the same particular church, or before any other court, by any member of that court.  A member of the court so employed shall not be allowed to sit in judgment in the case.

 

32-20.  Process, in case of scandal, shall commence within the space of one year after the offense was committed, unless it has recently become flagrant.  When, however, a church member shall commit an offense, after removing to a place far distant from his former residence, and where his connection with the church is unknown, in consequence of which process cannot be instituted within the time above specified, the recent discovery of the church membership of the individual shall be considered as equivalent to the offense itself having recently become flagrant.  The same principle, in like circumstances, shall also apply to ministers.

 

CHAPTER 33

 

          Special Rules Pertaining to Process Before Sessions

 

33-1.    Process against all church members, other than ministers of the Gospel, shall be entered before the Session of the church to which such members belong, except in cases of appeal.  However, if the Session refuses to act in doctrinal cases or instances of public scandal and two other Sessions of churches in the same Presbytery request the Presbytery of which the church is a member to initiate proper or appropriate action in a case of process and thus assume jurisdiction and authority, the Presbytery shall do so.

 

33-2.    When an accused person  is found contumacious (cf. 32-6), he shall be immediately suspended from the sacraments (and if an officer from his office)  for his contumacy.  Record shall be made of the fact and of the charges under which he was arraigned, and the censure may be made public, should this be deemed expedient by the Session.  The censure shall in no case be removed until the offender has not only repented of his contumacy, but has also given satisfaction in relation to the charges against him.

 

33-3.    If after further endeavor by the court to bring the accused to a sense of his guilt, he persists in his contumacy, he shall be excommunicated from the Church.

 

33-4.    When it is impracticable immediately to commence process against an accused church member, the Session may, if it thinks the edification of the Church requires it, prevent the accused from approaching the Lord’s Table until the charges against him can be examined.

 

Chapter 34

Special Rules Pertaining to Process Against a Minister

   (Teaching Elder)

 

34-1.    Process against a minister shall be entered before the Presbytery of which he is a member.  However, if the Presbytery refuses to act in doctrinal cases or cases of public scandal and two other Presbyteries request the General Assembly to assume original jurisdiction (to first receive and initially hear and determine), the General Assembly shall do so.

 

34-2.    As no minister ought, on account of his office, to be screened in his sin, or slightly censured, so scandalous charges ought not to be received against him on slight grounds.

 

34-3.    If any one knows a minister to be guilty of a private offense, he should warn him in private.  But if the offense be persisted in, or become public, he should bring the case to the attention of some other minister of the Presbytery.

 

34-4.       a.  When a minister accused of an offense is found contumacious (cf. 32-6), he shall be immediately suspended from the sacraments and his office for his contumacy.  Record shall be made of the fact and of the charges under which he was arraigned, and the censure shall be made public.  The censure shall in no case be removed until the offender has not only repented of his contumacy, but has also given satisfaction in relation to the charges against him.

            b.  If after further endeavor by the court to bring the accused to a sense of his guilt, he persists in his contumacy, he shall be deposed and excommunicated from the Church.

 

34-5.    Heresy and schism may be of such a nature as to warrant deposition; but errors ought to be carefully considered, whether they strike at the vitals of religion and are industriously spread, or whether they arise from the weakness of the human understanding and are not likely to do much injury.

 

34-6.    If the Presbytery find on trial that the matter complained of amounts to no more than such acts of infirmity as may be amended, so that little or nothing remains to hinder the minister’s usefulness, it shall take all prudent measures to remove the scandal.

 

34-7.    When a minister, pending a trial, shall make confession, if the matter be base and flagitious, such as drunkenness, uncleanness, or crimes of a greater nature, however penitent he may appear to the satisfaction of all, the court shall without delay impose definite suspension or depose him from the ministry.

 

34-8.    A minister under indefinite suspension from his office or deposed for scandalous conduct shall not be restored, even on the deepest sorrow for his sin, until he shall exhibit for a considerable time such an eminently exemplary, humble and edifying life and testimony as shall heals the wound made by his scandal.  A deposed minister shall in no case be restored until it shall appear that the general sentiment of the Church is strongly in his favor, and demands his restoration; and then only by the court inflicting the censure, or with that court’s consent.

 

34-9.    When a minister is deposed, his pastoral relation shall be dissolved; but when he is suspended from office it shall be left to the discretion of the Presbytery whether the censure shall include the dissolution of the pastoral relation.

 

34-10.  Whenever a minister of the Gospel shall habitually fail to be engaged in the regular discharge of his official functions, it shall be the duty of the Presbytery, at a stated meeting, to inquire into the cause of such dereliction and, if necessary, to institute judicial proceedings against him for breach of his covenant engagement.  If it shall appear that his neglect proceeds only from his lack of acceptance to the Church, Presbytery may, upon the same principle upon which it withdraws license from a licentiate for lack of evidence of the divine call, divest him of his office without censure, even against his will, a majority of two-thirds (2/3) being necessary for this purpose.

            In such a case, the clerk shall under the order of the Presbytery forthwith deliver to the minister concerned a written note that, at the next stated meeting, the question of his being so dealt with is to be considered.  This notice shall distinctly state the grounds for this proceeding.  The party thus notified shall be heard in his own defense; and if the decision pass against him he may appeal, as if he had been tried after the usual forms.  This principle may apply, with any necessary changes, to ruling elders and deacons.