THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH.

409 vate judgment, in all matters that respect religion, are universal and inalienable; that all ecclesiastical power is only ministerial and declarative; that no church judicatory ought to pretend to make laws to bind the conscience in virtue of their own authority, and that all their decisions ought to be founded upon the word of God. Ecclesiastical discipline is purely moral and spiritual in its object, and ought not to be attended with any civil effects; hence it can derive no force whatever but from its own justice, the approbation of an impartial public, and the favor and blessing of the great Head of the church.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE CHURCH.

The officers of the Presbyterian Church are bishops or pastors, ruling elders, and deacons. The pastor is the spiritual teacher of the congregation. He is expected to preach the gospel in the church on the Lord's day, to instruct the people by occasional lectures, to superintend the catechismal teaching of the young, and to visit the sick and bereaved, and console them by spiritual counsel adapted to their necessities. Ruling elders are elected by the people as their representatives in the ecclesiastical courts, and to co-operate with the pastor in watching over the spiritual interests of the congregation. Deacons are officers whose duty is the care of the poor, and the reception and disbursement of the charitable and other funds of the congregation.

The SESSION is the primary court of the church, and consists of the bishop or pastor, and the ruling elders. The bishop is the president, and has the title of "Moderator of the session." The session is charged with the duty of watching over the spiritual interests of the congregation. It can summon offenders to an account for their irregularities, or their neglect of Christian duty. It can investigate charges presented by others, and admonish, rebuke, or suspend or exclude from the Lord's table, those who are found to deserve censure, according to the degree of their culpability. It is the business of the session also to appoint a delegate of its own

body, to attend, with the pastor, the higher judicatories of the church. It is required of the session to keep a fair record of all its proceedings, as also a register of marriages, baptisms, persons admitted to the Lord's Supper, deaths, and other removals of church members, and to transmit these records, at stated periods, to the presbytery for their inspection.

A PRESBYTERY consists of all the ministers, and one ruling elder from each church within a certain district. Three ministers, and any number of elders who may be present, constitute a quorum. The presbytery has power to receive and issue appeals from church sessions, and references brought before them in an orderly manner; to examine, license, and ordain candidates for the holy ministry; to install, remove, and judge ministers; to examine and approve or censure the records of church sessions; to resolve questions of doctrine or discipline, seriously and reasonably proposed; to condemn erroneous opinions which injure the purity or peace of the church; to visit particular churches for the purpose of inquiring into their state, and redressing the evils that may have arisen in them; to unite or divide congregations, at the request of the people, or to form or receive new congregations; and, in general, to perform whatever may be deemed necessary to the spiritual welfare of the churches under their care.

A SYNOD consists of several presbyteries united. Not less than three presbyteries are necessary to compose a synod. It is not made up of representatives from the presbyteries, as presbyteries are of representatives from the sessions, except in Synods which have adopted the delegate system. As a rule, each member of all the presbyteries included in its bounds is a member of the synod, so that a synod is nothing different from a larger presbytery, constituted by a combination of several presbyteries into one. The synod reviews the records of presbyteries, approving or censuring their proceedings, erecting new presbyteries, uniting or dividing those which were before erected, taking a general care of the churches within its bounds, and propos

CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH.

411

ing such measures to the General Assembly as may be for advantage to the whole church. The synod is a court of appeal for the presbyteries within its bounds, having the same relation to the presbyterial courts which the presbyteries have to the sessions.

The GENERAL ASSEMBLY is the highest judicatory in the Presbyterian Church. It is constituted of an equal delegation of bishops or pastors and elders from each presbytery in the following proportion, viz.: each presbytery consisting of not more than twenty-four ministers, is entitled to be represented by one minister and one ruling elder; and each presbytery consisting of more than twenty-four ministers, is entitled to be represented by one minister and one elder for each twenty-four ministers, or for each additional fractional number of ministers not less than twelve. These delegates are styled Commissioners to the General Assembly. The General Assembly meets annually in such cities as may be selected at preceding sessions.

DUTIES OF MEMBERS AND CEREMONIES OF THE CHURCH.

As the Presbyterian Church has been the parent of many independent denominations, that are now flourishing and honored in all parts of the world, and as the branches have adhered almost wholly to the discipline and practices of the parent church, the following exposition of the duties of the members and the ceremonies of the church will be found replete with interest:

I. THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE LORD'S DAY.

1. Preparation is to be made for observing it.

2. The whole day is to be kept holy to the Lord.

3. Families are to make such arrangements as to allow servants and all the household to enjoy its privileges.

4. Every person and family is to prepare for the public worship of God by prayer and holy meditation.

5. The people are to attend upon public worship at the stated hour. 6. The remainder of the day, after the public services are over, is to be spent in prayer and praise, and devotional reading and teaching the young, and works of charity.