expound the word of God, to conduct the public worship of God,* to administer the sacraments, to participate in the government of the church, and to admonish men of their duties, as well as by all proper means, public and private, to edify the church of Christ.

SEC. 2. Those other officers who were endowed with miraculous gifts, and whose instrumentality Christ used in first forming the church, were extraordinary and of temporary standing.

SEC. 3. Pastors are amenable for their conduct to the Synod to which they belong; and that Synod is the tribunal which has the entire jurisdiction over them: excepting in those cases where a regular appeal is obtained to the General Synod, agreeably to Article IV., Section 8, of the Constitution of the General Synod.

SEC. 4. No minister shall knowingly grant to a member of another congregation any privileges of the church, which would be denied to said member by his own pastor.

SEC. 5. It is the sacred duty of every minister so to conduct himself, that his life shall present to his congregation an example of true Christian propriety of deportment: And should any minister of our church be guilty of an open vice, (which may God in mercy prevent!) it shall be the duty of the Church Council earnestly to exhort him several times to reformation; and if this should prove ineffectual, or if the case be such as to bring disgrace upon the church, to report him to the President of the Synod.

*Eph. iv. 11, 12; Acts viii. 28, 31; 1 Pet. v. 1, 2. Matt. xxviii. 19; 1 Cor. xi. 23, iv. 1.

Acts vi. 2, 6.

OF ELDERS AND DEACONS.

SECTION 6. The other officers of the church are Elders and Deacons, who are elected by the members of the church as their agents to perform some of the duties originally devolving on themselves. The principal duties of Elders, are to aid the pastor or pastors in administering the government and discipline of the church; to endeavor to preserve peace and harmony among its members; to visit the Sabbath and other congregational schools, and promote the religious education of the children of the church; to visit the sick and afflicted, and aid in the performance of such other duties as are incumbent on the Church Council.

The duties of the Deacons' office are principally these: To lead an exemplary life, as commanded in the Scriptures; * to minister unto the poor,† extending to their wants and distributing faithfully amongst them the collections which may be made for their use; to assist the pastor in the administration of the Eucharist; to attend and render all necessary service at stated worship; to see that their minister receives a just and adequate support, according to the commands of our Lord; to administer the temporal concerns of the church, and to aid in the performance of such other duties as are incumbent on the Church Council. Both these officers are elected by the members of the church, and it is their duty to feel the deepest interest in the advancement of piety among them, and to exert their utmost influence to promote it. SEC. 7. The Elders and Deacons are the repre† Acts vi. 2, 6.

#1 Tim. viii. 13, and others.

sentatives of the whole church, and each church shall determine the number of their officers and the term of their duration in office; yet in no case shall they serve less than two years nor more than eight, unless re-elected. And when elected they shall be inducted into their respective offices, according to the form prescribed by the church.*

SEC. 8. When the corporate powers of the church are vested in the Church Council, trustees are unnecessary. Those congregations, however, which have been in the habit of having Trustees, may, if they deem it expedient, still retain them, and continue to them such privileges as they may deem expedient.

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE CHURCH COUNCIL.

SECTION 1. The Church Council is the lowest judicatory of the church, consisting of the pastor, or pastors, and all the elders and deacons of a particular church.

SEC. 2. The pastor, together with half the other existing members of the Church Council, and, in the necessary absence of the pastor, two-thirds of the remaining members of the Council, shall constitute a quorum.

SEC. 3. But no business connected with the government or discipline of the church shall be transacted without the presence of the minister, unless his absence is unavoidable or voluntary, or

* Vide "Liturgy," etc.

the church be vacant. And when present, the pastor shall be ex-officio chairman.

SEC. 4. The Church Council shall have the superintendence of all the temporal concerns of the church, and shall see that they are administered with wisdom, faithfulness and justice. They shall also elect one of their number a deputy to represent them at the annual synodical meeting.

SEC. 5. It shall be the duty of the Council to admit to membership adults, who shall make application, and whom, on mature examination, they shall judge to be possessed of the qualifications hereafter specified. They shall be obedient subjects of divine grace - that is, they must satisfy the Church Council that they have sincerely repented of their sins, and truly believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Also, to admit to the communion of the church all those who were admitted to church-membership in their infancy, and whom on like examination, they shall judge possessed of the above-mentioned qualifications. No one shall be considered a fit subject for confirmation who has not previously attended a course of religious lectures delivered by the pastor, on the most important doctrines and principles of religion, unless the pastor should be satisfied that the applicant's attainments are adequate without this attendance. And when adults are admitted to membership, their baptism shall, if possible, be performed publicly before the church; and when members who were baptized in their infancy are admitted to full communion, they shall in the same public manner confirm their baptismal vows *Thess. v. 12, 13.

Mark xvi. 16; John iii. 5; Acts viii. 15; xvi. 14, 15

according to the form of confirmation customary in the church.

SEC. 6. It shall be the duty of the pastor, or the Church Council, to keep a complete list of all the communing members, the record of which shall be the property of the church.

SEC. 7. If any member of the Church Council shall conduct himself in a manner unworthy of his office, he may be accused before the Council, and if found guilty, his case shall be referred to the whole church for decision.

SEC. 8. It shall be the duty of the Council to administer the discipline of the church on all those whose conduct is inconsistent with their Christian profession, or who entertain fundamental errors.* To this end they shall have power to cite any of their church-members to appear before them, and to endeavor to obtain other witnesses, when the case may require it. It shall further be the duty of the Council, when any member offends, first privately to admonish him, or, if necessary, to call him to an account; and if these measures prove ineffectual, to suspend or excommunicate him, that is, to debar him from the privileges peculiar to church-membership, according to the precepts of the New Testa ment laid down in this formula. It shall also be their duty to restore † those subjects of suspension or excommunication, to all the privileges of the church, who shall manifest sincere repentance. Every act of excommunication or of restoration may be published to the church, if deemed neces sary by the majority of the Council,

SEC. 9. The Church Council may at any time † 2 Cor. ii. 7; Gal. vi. 1.

*1 Cor. v. 7, 13.