2. As the appropriations of the Board necessarily fall short of the entire wants of the students, so the friends of each, and the student himself, will be expected to make all proper exertions in assisting to defray the expenses of his education.

3. When a student shall find it necessary to relinquish study for a time in order to increase his means of support, by teaching or otherwise, he shall first obtain the consent of the Education Committee of the Presbytery or of the Board; and if, when given, he shall not be absent from study more than three months, his appropriations will be continued; but if longer, they will be discontinued or continued in part, according to circumstances.

4. It shall be the duty of each candidate connected with the Board to report himself, soon after the meeting of the General Assembly, to the Education Committee of his Presbytery, as to his progress, wants and prospects; and where any of the requisitions of the Board which affect him may not be carried out by teachers or others, it becomes his duty to see that they are attended to, that delays and losses to himself may be prevented.

5. The reception of an appropriation by a student shall be considered as expressing a promise to comply with all the rules and regulations of

the Board.

II. Every candidate for licensure shall be taken on trials by that Presbytery to which he most naturally belongs, and he shall be considered as most naturally belonging to that Presbytery within the bounds of which he has ordinarily resided. But in case any candidate should find it more convenient to put himself under the care of a Presbytery at a distance from that to which he most naturally belongs, he may be received by the said Presbytery on his producing testimonials, either from the Presbytery within the bounds of which he has commonly resided, or from any two ministers of that Presbytery in good standing, of his exemplary piety and other requisite qualifications.

1. The Usage in the Olden Time.

In answer to the third query, the Synod judge that any student in divinity who professes a design to enter into the ministry has a right in our present situation to study for his improvement under the direction of any divine of reputation in the Synod, according to a former act; but that when he proposes to enter upon trials with a view to the ministry, he shall come under the care of that Presbytery to which he most naturally belongs, and he shall be deemed most naturally to belong to that Presbytery in whose bounds he has been brought up and lived for the most part, and where he is best known. But if another Presbytery desire that any student or students should come into their bounds, or if any such student or students, for greater conveniency, or from any circumstances that make it necessary, desire to enter upon trials in a different Presbytery, upon his offering satisfactory reasons he may be dismissed; but in either case the Presbytery to which he removes shall not receive nor admit him to come under trials upon his having a certificate as a regular church member only, but he shall bring a testimonial from the Presbytery or several neighboring ministers where he lived, recommending him as a candidate for the ministry

of exemplary piety and holiness of conversation, nor shall anything less be esteemed a sufficient recommendation.-1764, p. 337.

2. Licensure by Bodies other than those within whose Bounds the Candidate expects to Labor Disapproved.

Though the Synod entertains a high regard for the associated churches of New England, yet we cannot but judge that students who go to them or to any other than our own Presbyteries to obtain license in order to return and officiate among us act very irregularly, and are not to be approved or employed by our Presbyteries, as hereby we are deprived of the right of trying and approving the qualifications of our own candidates ; yet if any case may happen wherein such conduct may in some circumstances be thought necessary for the greater good of any congregation, it shall be laid before the Presbytery to which the congregation belongs and approved of by them.-1764, p. 338.

[For action condemning the licensing of a candidate of one Presbytery by another without regular dismission, see chap. x., sec. viii.]

3. Candidates should be Placed under the Care of Presbytery. a. It is recommended to the agencies and committees to endeavor to have the young men aided by the Church, especially in their theological studies, placed under the care of Presbyteries, and that in all ordinary. cases they be licensed by those Presbyteries to which they naturally belong.-1854, p. 507, N. S.

b. It is recommended that the young men aided by the Assembly's Committee be ordinarily placed, as soon as possible, under the care of Presbyteries, and that in all ordinary cases they be licensed, if convenient, by the Presbyteries to which they naturally belong.-1856, p. 224, N. S.

c. Resolved, That candidates should be required to put themselves under the care of Presbytery as soon as possible, and receive careful supervision during their entire course, and that whatever arrangements the Presbyteries may deem expedient to facilitate their training, these arrangements should not be such as will tend to shorten the full term of study or induce an absence from their classes at either the opening or closing of the seminary sessions.-1857, p. 31, O. S.

See also 1864, p. 315, O. S.

4. Careful Supervision to be Exercised in Receiving Candidates and over their Studies.

Resolved, That this Assembly renew the resolution of the Assembly of last year (minutes, p. 524), and "earnestly urge all our Presbyteries and Committees ad interim to guard with a becoming caution and a firm vigilance the door to the holy office of the ministry, so as not to admit to that sacred calling men wanting in mental and moral qualifications for its high and holy functions." And furthermore, as a means of excluding improper persons, that this Assembly enjoins upon every Presbytery which has not so done to appoint a Committee, whose duty it shall be to make careful inquiry as to the conduct and progress in study of all the candidates under its care, and to make report to their Presbytery at every stated meeting, or oftener if presbyterial action is needed.-1860, p. 25, O. S.

5. No Candidate to be Received by the Board until he has been a Church Member one year and pursued Classical Studies for one year.

That it be recommended that the Board of Education hereafter receive no candidate for the ministry until he has been a member of the Church at least one year, and has also passed his classical studies for an academic year, except in extraordinary cases to be determined by the Board.

That increased care be enjoined upon the Presbyteries in bringing forward or recommending candidates for the sacred ministry.-1872, p. 19. 6. Candidates must Connect Themselves with the Presbytery to which they Naturally Belong.

That the candidates of the Board be required to connect themselves with the Presbyteries to whieh they naturally belong, unless for extraor dinary reasons, of which the Presbyteries must be the judge.-1872, p. 19.

III. It is proper and requisite that candidates applying to the Presbytery to be licensed to preach the gospel produce satisfactory testimonials of their good moral character and of their being regular members of some particular church. And it is the duty of the Presbytery, for their satisfaction with regard to the real piety of such candidates, to examine them respecting their experimental acquaintance with religion and the motives which influence them to desire the sacred office. This examination shall be close and particular, and in most cases may best be conducted in the presence of the Presbytery only. And it is recommended that the candidate be also required to produce a diploma of bachelor or master of arts from some college or university, or, at least, authentic testimonials of his having gone through a regular course of learning.

1. A Liberal Education Required.

a. Through the Committee of Overtures it was requested by the first Presbytery of Philadelphia that the Synod declare to them their sense on this point, viz., whether a person without a liberal education may be taken on trials or licensed to preach the gospel. The question being put, it was carried in the negative.-1783, p. 499.

b. An overture was brought in in the following terms, viz.: "Whether in the present state of the Church in America, and the scarcity of ministers to fill our numerous congregations, the Synod or Presbyteries ought therefore to relax, in any degree, in the literary qualifications required of intrants into the ministry," and it was carried in the negative by a great majority.-1785, p. 511.

c. To keep Pace with the Progress of Society and Letters.

Your Committee recommend to the General Assembly to enjoin it upon. all their Presbyteries to take the most effectual order in their power to increase, if possible, the qualifications of candidates for the gospel ministry with regard both to sincere piety and solid and extensive learning, that the improvements of the pulpit may keep full pace with the progress of society and letters.-1799, p. 181.

2. Letter to Rev. David Rice on Thorough Literary Training for the Ministry.

DEAR SIR: Your letter of the 18th of April has been regularly laid before the General Assembly; and although it ought to have been accompanied with an extract from the minutes of the Presbytery of Transylvania, yet the Assembly, having perfect confidence in you, easily waived that formality.

The inquiry which you propose in the name of the Presbytery concerning the propriety in your present circumstances of licensing and ordaining men to the work of the gospel ministry without a liberal education is certainly of great magnitude. Considering the great and ardent zeal on the subject of religion which has been awakened throughout so large a portion of the United States, the multitudes who are earnestly demanding of you the bread of life, and the few, comparatively, who are regularly ordained to break it among them, the reasoning seems specious at first which would encourage us, in the instances you mention, to depart from the spirit of our standards on this subject, and some plausible facts frequently occur which appear to confirm this reasoning and mislead the judgments of many honest and well-meaning men. Ön all subjects on which the human mind is roused to uncommon exertions and inflamed with uncommon ardor, men become eloquent for a season, and even the most weak and ignorant often surprise us by the fluency and pertinency as well as fervor of their expressions. And in general revivals of the spirit of religion that copiousness and pathos in prayer and exhortation which are not uncommonly to be found among men who are destitute of any liberal culture of mind, and often even of any considerable natural talents, may tempt themselves and lead others to conclude that they are endued with peculiar and extraordinary gifts for the service of the Church which ought not to be suffered to lie useless and unemployed.

An ardent zeal, too often united with a certain spiritual pride and strong self-love, is apt to inspire some weak persons of an enthusiastic temper ament with vehement impulses to preach the gospel, which they flatter themselves are calls from heaven, but experience has repeatedly shown us that these inward impulses most commonly affect men of great imbecility of mind or of strong vanity. Experience further shows that when this fervor is somewhat abated, all their barrenness and defect of furniture for the holy ministry, and the sound interpretation of the sacred Scriptures, become manifest, and too many unhappy examples have occurred of those who have abandoned good morals when deserted by their zeal. And with regard to supposed calls to preach the gospel, no man can be rightly called to that sacred office out of the regular order which Christ has established in his Church; no such inward call can be judged of by any church judicatory, nor distinguished by any certain criterion from the visionary impulses of enthusiasm. The judicatories of the Church can judge only of the life and conversation of men, their knowledge and their talents to teach.

Besides, we know that the nature of true religion is to render men humble. And such is the solemnity and importance of the duty of interpreting the word of God to the people, and speaking in his name, that a sincere penitent will rather wait to be sought out than forwardly intrude himself into so holy a calling. And do we not find in fact that they are not usually the most prudent, judicious and qualified to teach among the laity who are most solicitous to be constituted public guides and instructors in the Church?

We do not say that a liberal education is absolutely essential to a man's

usefulness in the ministry of the gospel, but reason and experience both demonstrate its high importance and utility. And where ignorant men are permitted to explain the Holy Scriptures, it ought to be subject to the direction and control of others of greater knowledge. But this is an order which it has not been thought proper to adopt in the Presbyterian Church. And the superior comparative prosperity and usefulness of our Church and that of our eastern brethren, which is similarly constituted, is a demonstration by no means equivocal of the approbation and smiles of Heaven upon us in the exercise of our present form of government and discipline. But were our opinion on this subject different from what it is, we cannot lawfully and conscientiously depart from our present standards till they be changed in an orderly manner by the consent of a majority of the Presbyteries which compose the body of the General Assembly.

You express your apprehensions lest, if certain illiterate and unqualified men should not be admitted to the ministry of the gospel among you, they may withdraw from the Church and become the promoters of dangerous schisms. We answer, The path of duty is a safe path. Do what is right, and commit the event to God. If they are men of such a spirit, it is only a new proof that they are most unfit for the office to which they aspire. Parties created by them will neither be important nor durable. But if the gates of the Church are opened to weakness and ignorance, she will soon be overflowed with errors and with the wildest disorders. We shall bring the ministry into disgrace and contempt which should be, like the priesthood of Aaron, without blemish. If men are sincerely desirous of promoting the glory of God, let them first bestow the necessary pains and time to acquire the requisite qualifications for feeding and leading the flock of Christ; let them be regularly initiated in the priesthood, and not hasten to offer unhallowed fire on God's altar. If they are sincerely desirous of doing good, let them do it in that sphere in which they appear destined by Providence to move. In this every Christian, the poorest and humblest, has ample scope to exercise his pious and benevolent dispositions, and to exert his talents, whatever they may be.-1804, p. 299.

3. Liberal Education Waived in Certain Cases.

a. Several very earnest applications were made to the Synod by Welsh people in different parts, representing that many among them understand not the English tongue, and unless they have a pastor capable of speaking in their own language they must live entirely destitute of ordinances; that a certain Mr. John Griffith came some years ago from Wales, with good certificates of his Christian knowledge and piety, though he has not had a liberal education, and of being there licensed to preach the gospel; that he has preached among them to their great satisfaction, and therefore pray the Synod to ordain him to the ministry that he may both preach and also administer the sacraments among them.

Upon considering the case, the Synod find that several members have seen his certificates from Wales, that some have conversed with him and were much satisfied with his Christian knowledge and acquaintance with experimental religion; that those of the Welsh here who testify to the Synod concerning his useful preaching and pious conduct are known to be men of judgment and integrity; and as the circumstances of that people are singular, and no other way appears in which they can enjoy ordinances, the Synod agree that the said Mr. John Griffith, though he has not the measure of school learning usually required, and which they judge to be ordinarily requisite, be ordained to the work of the ministry, and ap