Imatges de pàgina
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ruling elder in the congregation of

as

the cafe may be;]") to be â commiffioner, on behalf of this presbytery, to the next general affembly of the presbyterian church in the United States of America, to meet at

day of

-A. D.

on the

or

wherever, and whenever, the faid affembly may happen to fit; to confult, vote, and determine, on all things that may come before that body, according to the principles and conftitution of this church and the word of God. And of his diligence herein, he is to render an account at his return.

Signed, by order of the Presbytery,
Moderator,

Clerk."

And the presbytery fhall make record of the appointment.

vered to the

Sect. III. These commiffions fhall, if poffiCommiffions ble, be delivered to the clerk of the fhall be deli- affembly, in proper feason, that he Clerk at the may have the roll of the affembly firft Seffion. completed before the first feflion. Commiffions, not produced at the opening of the affembly, fhall afterwards be delivered only in the intervals between the feffions. No commiffioner fhall have a right to deliberate or vote in the affembly, until his name fhall have been enrolled by the clerk, and his commission publicly read, and filed among the papers of the affembly.

a Year.

And fhall be opened with

1

Sect. IV. The general affembly shall meet, at least once in The Affembly every year; their fhall meet once firit meeting to be on the third Thursday of May, 1789, in the Second Prefbyterian Church in Philadelphia, and afterwards on their own adjournments. If there be not a fufficient number, for the tranfaction of bufinefs, convened before 12 o'clock, on. that day, those who are prefent fhall have power to adjourn, from day to day, till a fufficient num❤ ber shall have met to conftitute an affembly. Sect. V. On the day to which the general affembly ftands adjourned, and between the hours of eleven and twelve, the moderator of the laft general af fembly, if prefent; or, in cafe of his absence, the fenior minifter prefent, fhall open the meeting with a fermon. After fermon, the members being in the house where the affembly is to hold its feffions, the fame minifter who preach- · ed fhall, by prayer, publicly implore the bleffing and direction of Almighty God; and shall continue to prefide till a new moderator be chosen. For this purpose he shall call for the commiffions of those prefent; which being read, and the names of the members enrolled in order, if there be a quorum, they fhall choose a moderator.

a Sermon.

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Sect. VI. Each feffion of the affembly, as of Mode of diffolv- all the other judicatories of the ing the Affembly church, fhall be introduced and

concluded with prayer.

And the whole bufinefs

of the affembly being finished, and the vote being taken for diffolving the pretent affembly, the moderator shall fay from the chair: "By virtue of the authority delegated to me by the church, let this general affembly be diffolved; and I do hereby diffolve it, and requi; another affembly chofen in the fame manner, to meet at

on the

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day of

A. D.

After which he fhall pray, and return thanks to God for his great mercy and goodnefs, and pronounce on those present, the apoftolic benediction.

Sect. VII. In order, as far as poffible, to Expenfes of procure a respectable and full delegaDelegates to tion to all our judicatories, it is probe defrayed. per, that the expenses of minifters and elders, in their attendance on thefe judicatories, be defrayed, by the bodies which they respectively reprefent.

FORMS

OF

PROCESS

IN THE

JUDICATORIES OF THIS CHURCH.

WITH

CHAP. I.

ITH regard to SCANDALS OR OFFENCES that may arise in our churches, we agree to obferve the following rules of proceeding.

1. Inasmuch as all baptized persons are members of the church, they are under its care, and fubject to its government and difcipline and, when they have arrived at the years of difcretion, they are bound to perform all the duties of churchmembers.

2. No accufation fhall be admitted, as the foundation of a procefs before an ecclefiaftical judicatory, but where fuch offences are alledged, as appear, from the word of God, to merit the public notice and cenfure of the church. And,

in the accufation, the times, places, and circumftances,. fhould be ascertained, if poffible; that the accused may have an opportunity to prove an alibi, or to extenuate, or alleviate his crime.

3. No complaint or information, on the subjectof perfonal and private injuries, fhall be admitted, unless those means of reconciliation, and of privately reclaiming the offender, have been used, which are required by Christ. Mat. xviii. 15, 16. And, in all cafes, the ecclesiastical judicatories, in receiving accufations, in conducting proceffes, or inflicting cenfures, ought to avoid, as far as poffible, the divulging of offences, to the fcandal of the church: because the unneceffary fpreading of fcandal hardens and enrages the guilty, grieves the godly, and difhonours religion. And if any private Chriftian fhall industriously 1pread the knowledge of an offence, unless in profecuting it before the proper judicatories of the church, he shall be liable to cenfure, as an uncanlid flanderer of his brother,

4. When complaint is made of a crime, cog. nizable before any judicatory, no more fhall be done at the first meeting, unless by confent of parties, than to give the accused a copy of each charge with the names of the witneffes to fupport it; and a citation of all concerned, to appear at the next meeting of the judicatory, to have the matter fully heard and decided. Notice fball

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