;" after which he shall pray and return thanks, and pronounce, on those present, the apostolic benediction.

[See Digest, p. 332.]

2. The Place of Meeting Determined by the Vote of the Assembly. The Committee on the minute to be made concerning the place of meeting of this Assembly presented their report, which was adopted, and is as follows: The Committee having under consideration the minute to be made concerning the place of meeting of the Assembly, would report: The Assembly of 1879, on the 26th day of May, at Saratoga, appointed "Madison, Wisconsin," as the place of meeting for the present Assembly. No house or place of meeting in this city was named or designated. (See Minutes of 1879, p. 619.)

When the moderator of the last Assembly declared that body dissolved, he did announce that the present Assembly would meet in the First Presbyterian church of Madison, Wis. (Minutes of 1879, p. 634.) The law of our Church requires the moderator to dissolve the Assembly, "and to require another . . to meet at of Govt., ch. xii., sec. viii.).

meet.

on the day of

(Form

The Assembly, and not the moderator, has the right and the power of fixing the place of meeting. The Assembly fixed the city of Madison, and left the present Assembly to seek its own place or house in which to This Assembly selected this hall, after it was so kindly and generously tendered by His Excellency the Governor of this State. There can be no question but that the meeting in this hall is regular, and in conformity with the order of the last Assembly, and of the law and Constitution of the Church.

Your Committee ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the matter committed to them.-1880, p. 81.

3. Permanent Committee on the Place of Meeting of the next Assembly.

The moderator and the stated and permanent clerks were appointed a committee to report from year to year on the place of the meeting of the next ensuing Assembly.-1881,

P.

59.

CHAPTER XIII.

OF ELECTING AND ORDAINING RULING ELDERS AND DEACONS

II. EVERY congregation shall elect persons to the office of ruling elder, and to the office of deacon, or either of them, in the mode most approved and in use in that congregation. But in all cases the persons elected must be male members in full communion in the church in which they are to exercise their office.

[See Form of Government, chap. v., and Digest, p. 337.]

15. Election Governed by the Mode Approved in Use.

Question by the Presbytery of Kittanning:

In an election of elders in a particular church, should the meeting for the election be presided over by the Session, and is the Session alone com petent to conduct the election?

The Committee recommend that the Presbytery be referred to chap. xiii., sec. ii., of the Form of Government.-Adopted 1878, p. 57.

[i. e. the question is determined in all such cases by the usage, the mode most approved and in use in that congregation. (See also Digest, chap. xiii., sec. ii., p. 341, par. 9.)-M.]

16. A Minister not Eligible as a Ruling Elder.

"Is a minister a member of a particular church, and, as such, is he eligible to the office of ruling elder in that church?"

The Committee recommend that the Assembly answer "No,” and refer to the Digest, p. 339.-Adopted 1874, p. 84.

17. By "Congregation" Communicants are Meant.

Overture. A resolution, referred by the Assembly, asking for a definition of the word "congregation," as used in the chapter of our Discipline which prescribes the manner of electing ruling elders. Your Committee recommend the Assembly to answer, that the term " congregation" includes only the actual communicants of the particular church. (Digest, p. 342.)—Adopted 1882, p. 97.

18. All Office-Bearers must Faithfully Accept the Standards. Overture from the Session of the First Church of Dayton, Ohio, asking whether persons who do not accept the teaching of the Church regarding infant baptism are eligible to the office of ruling elder or deacon. Your Committee recommend that the Assembly return the following answer: A faithful acceptance of the Confession of Faith is required of those who accept office in our churches; and if any cannot faithfully accept this Confession of Faith, they should decline office in the Church. But, so far as the overture refers to a particular case, we recommend that it be returned to the church and submitted to the Presbytery.-Adopted 1882, pp. 98, 99.

19. No Authority for Election and Ordination of Deaconesses. Overture from the Presbytery of Cairo, asking:

1. Is the election of female members of the Church to the office of deaconess consistent with Presbyterian polity?

2. If proper to elect them, should they be installed? and if installed, should it be done by the regular form for the ordination of deacons, or otherwise?

The Committee recommends the following answer:

To questions 1 and 2: The Form of Government, chap. xiii., sec. ii., declares that "in all cases the persons elected must be male members." In all ages of the Church godly women have been appointed to aid the officers of the Church in their labors, especially for the relief of the poor and the infirm. They rendered important service in the apostolic Church, but they do not appear to have occupied a separate office, to have been elected by the people, or to have been ordained and installed. There is nothing in our Constitution, in the practice of our Church, or in any present emergency to justify the creation of a new office.-Adopted 1884, p. 114.

20. Deliverance on the Term-Service of Deacons.

a. 3. Does the Presbyterial action, authorizing the election and installation of elders for a limited term of service, apply also to deacons? To question 3: The Form of Government gives no authority for the

election of deacons for a limited term of service. p. 626.) Adopted 1884, p. 114.

(See Minutes of 1883,

b. Overture inquiring whether the action of the last Assembly annuls the election of deacons chosen to serve for a term of years.

The Committee recommends the following answer: That as there is no provision in the Constitution for limiting the service of deacons, those who have been chosen to that office cannot be divested of it at the expiration of any designated term, unless by their own resignation or according to the provisions of the Constitution.-Adopted 1884, p. 114.

[See a, above.]

III. When any person shall have been elected to either of these offices, and shall have declared his willingness to accept thereof, he shall be set apart in the following manner:

[See Digest, pp. 346–348.]

5. An Elder who has Removed or Resigned, if Re-elected, must be again Installed.

Question: "Whether a ruling elder, who has terminated his connection with the Session by removal to another church or by resignation, should be reinstalled before he can regularly exercise the duties of his office in the same or another church ?"

The Committee recommend that the answer of the O. S. Assembly of 1849 to the same general question be re-enacted by this Assembly as the answer to this overture. This action is found on p. 347 of Moore's Digest.-1880, p. 46.

[The above is declared not to be retroactive. See under sec. viii., below, 1880, p. 84.-M.]

VII. Whenever a ruling elder or deacon, from either of these causes or from any other, not inferring crime, shall be incapable of serving the Church to edification, the Session shall take order on the subject and state the fact, together with the reasons of it, on their records; provided always, that nothing of this kind shall be done without the concurrence of the individual in question, unless by the advice of Presbytery.

9. Resignation of an Elder or Deacon to be Tendered to the Session, and Takes Effect when Accepted.

Overture from the Presbytery of Troy, asking, "To whom shall a ruling elder or a deacon offer his resignation when desiring to retire from active service, and what constitutional steps are necessary to complete the act ?" The Committee recommend the following answer: The resignation should be to the Session; and it will take effect when accepted.-Adopted 1883, p. 626.

VIII. If any particular church, by a vote of members in full communion, shall prefer to elect ruling elders for a limited time in the exercise of their functions, this may be done; provided, the full time be not less than three years, and the Session be made to consist of three classes, one of which only shall be elected every year; and provided that elders, once ordained, shall not be divested of the office when they

are not re-elected, but shall be entitled to represent that particular church in the higher judicatories, when appointed by the Session or the Presbytery.

[See Digest, above, p. 345, par. 14. After the judicial decision on chap. xiii., sec. ii., a committee was appointed to report to the next General Assembly an overture to the Presbyteries proposing a change in the Form of Government (1873, p. 547). That committee reported the above section (1874, p. 61), which was declared adopted.-1875, p. 521.—M.]

1. Elders not Re-elected under this Section may be Delegated to the Superior Judicatories.

Overture from the Presbytery of Newton, with regard to the interpretation of the constitutional rule, chap. xiii., sec. viii. In the judgment of this Committee, this rule contemplates that the elders referred to, by due appointment of the Session or Presbytery, may become members of any of the courts of the Church above the Session.-Adopted 1876, p. 74. 2. Elders not Re-elected on the Adoption of Term-Service Cease to be Acting Elders in that Particular Church.

Overture from the Presbyteries of Wooster and Blairsville. As to the position of existing Sessions in churches which adopt the system of election of elders for a limited time, as provided for in section viii., of chap. xiii., Form of Government, your Committee recommend this answer: A constitutional rule must have power to effect whatever is necessary for its practical operation. So soon, therefore, as any particular church, under this new provision of the Constitution, shall determine, by a vote of its members, in full communion, to elect ruling elders for a limited time, and they shall be elected and set apart to their office, elders in office by virtue of an earlier appointment cease to be acting elders in that particular church-otherwise the Session would not consist of three classes, as in such cases required.—Adopted 1876, p. 74.

3. When Re-elected, should be Reinstalled.

a. From the Broadway Presbyterian Church of Rock Island, inquiring whether rotary elders, where re-elected, should be reinstalled. Answered in the affirmative.-1878, p. 71.

[See above, under sec. vi., and Digest, p. 347.]

b. A petition asking: Is the reinstallation of elders re-elected on expiration of their term of service, essential to the continued exercise of their office in that church, so that, unless reinstalled, they cease to be members of the Session?

The Committee recommend that your petitioner be referred to the action of the Assembly of 1878, Minutes, p. 71. (See a, above.)—Adopted 1880,

p. 47.

4. The above not Retroactive, and does not Invalidate the Action of the Session.

The following resolution, relative to the reinstallation of elders, was adopted:

Resolved, That the action of this Assembly on Overtures Nos. 11 and 18, reported on by the Committee on the Polity of the Church, in reference to the reinstallation of elders, is not intended to be retroactive, or in any way to affect the validity of the action of Sessions in which elders, regularly elected but not reinstalled, may have sat as members.-1880, p. 84. [For Overture No. 11, see above, under section v.]

5 Reinstallation of a Re-elected Elder not Essential to the Validity of his Office, but is more Orderly.

a. Overture from the Presbytery of Rochester, asking the Assembly to allow congregations to reinstall re-elected ruling elders or not, according to their usage and discretion.

The Committee, referring to the action of the last Assembly on the same subject (Minutes, pp. 47, 84), recommend the following answer: While it is not essential to the validity of his office that a ruling elder, re-elected in a church where the limited-term service prevails, be reinstalled, it is nevertheless more orderly, that the fact of his re-election be recognized by his reinstallation or in some way equivalent thereto.— Adopted 1881, p. 591.

b. Overture from the Central Church of South-east, Presbytery of Westchester, asking for an interpretation of the instructions of the last Assembly regarding the re-installation of re-elected elders. Your Committee recommend the following answer to be given by the Assembly: It was the evident intention of the last Assembly to recommend the reinstallation of elders when re-elected; and, to make its intention more definite, the Assembly hereby strikes out of the previous action the phrase, "or in some way equivalent thereto," and adopts it as its answer to their overture.-Adopted 1882, p. 98.

6. Section VIII. has Reference to Elders.

Overture from the Presbytery of Westchester, to the following effect: “Does chapter xiii., sec. viii., authorize a church to elect term deacons as well as term elders?"

Your Committee recommend that the overture be answered in the negative. Adopted 1883, p. 626.

7. One or Two Elders may be Elected under Sec. VIII. Overture from the Presbytery of Southern Dakota, concerning the construction to be placed upon chap. xiii., sec. viii., of the Form of Government, relating to the election of elders for a limited term: whether, in Home Missionary churches, one or two elders can be elected for a limited

term.

The Committee recommend the following answer: When from necessity there can be but one elder, for the time being, he may be elected for three years, as provided in chap. xiii., sec. viii., and re-elected at the end of that term; and the division into classes as provided in that section should take place as the Session can be increased in number.-Adopted 1883, p. 626.

8. The Term must be Three Years, and the Classes Three. Overture from the Presbytery of Erie, asking the following questions: 1. Is a Presbytery right in confirming the action of congregations which elect ruling elders for terms of four and five years?

2. Must the term of service of elders be only three years? The Committee recommends the following answer: The Form of Government, chap. xiii., sec. viii., provides that ruling elders may be elected for "a limited time in the exercise of their functions

pro

vided the full term be not less than three years, and the Session be made to consist of three classes, one of which only shall be elected every year." The provisions of this section cannot be carried out should the elders be elected for a longer or shorter term than three years.-Adopted 1884, p. 114.