The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-11-03
sYNoD or svIaaISIA.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
aNIaHr srsaloN.

4
s NIaHr SESSION..
A committee on the Virginia Bible Society
ppo,nted this morning presented . report
commenting this cause to our courcnes.
The report was offered BY the Rev. z: q.
D. D., chairman of the comm.I,ee.
The Rev. n. w. Staples, agent OF the bl Ige
Society. spoke Ia support OF the cause ns
was followed by the Rev. T. L. Preston, WIZ
presented the claims ot the Bible cause 70 .pe
attention. of our churches. Ihe suos'ance "
the repert IL as follows: n,,,e
The Committee on the Virginia bioie ~.
ciety call the attention OF the SYNOD 70 tne
resolution adopted BY this body az tneir ses.
sion IN Winchester last year. ana urge tuat
the recommendation for collection on tne
third Sabbath of January in all our cnufcnes
be Faithfully carried out. ea
DIsMIssloN FROM THE MINISTRY.
7, should be stated 10 this report that there
"a nothing IN the case now before synod
affecting in any way the character or Cnrls-
tian standing Of DIR. Ruffuer. The point on
wh;ch there is difference of opinion, and
which led to discussion Of the case hst
year. and now again this year, Is Simply
this. Had the Lexington Presbytery right,
under our constitution, to divest him OF his
office without any offenees
This subject was tsken up at T. a.,
when a motion was made for The adoption
of the majority report; and DR.. Brc"n
moved the adoption Of the minority report
as a substitute.
MAJORITY REPORT.
Resolued,: That the report otSne Commlt'
tee ON the Records of Lexington Presbytery
made last year to the Synod at Winchester
be adopted.
Signed by Rev. DR.. Lefevre aud Rev. j.
c. Barr. Judge Inglis, not present at this
meeting, also concurs in this report.
RESOLUTIONS OF MINORITY REPORT.
1. Resolved, That In view of all the facts
and considerations belonging to the case the
Synod does not judge it best to disturb tne
action taken nv the Presbytery of Lexington.
Q, RESOLVED, That in view of the whole
subject the General Assembly be, and the
same hereby is. respectfully petitioned to
send down to the Presbyteries in such terms
az may be deemed most suitable, an overture
embracing the questions involved, to the end
that the mind of the Church may be clearly
ascertained and the Ia W Of the Church clearly
determined.
Sigred by DR.. William Brown and Judge
Robert Guild.
Several of the members made remarks as
to the status of the case aud the relation oil
the two reports to each other.
Colonel John T. Anderson said be sus.
tanned the artion of the Presbytery of Lex
ingtop, and wished the sui stitute adopted.
Rev. A. W. PItzer spoke in favor of The
minority report.
Rev. DR.. Lefeyre, who presented the re-.
port, was willing to appear as the advocate
of the old doctrine of the Church. He wished,
however, that this consideration Of the re-
port on the records OF the Presbytery bad
not been complicated by a proposition to
send an overture to the General Assembly.
de hoped this Synod would not depart from
the established usage of the Church. He
read from the Digest case similar, as be
claimed, to this, in which the Presbytery OF
New York, in 1888, did what the Lexington
Presbytery had done, and the Assembly re-
yersed their action. In 1902 anothe.' case
occurred in Lewes Presbytery, and the AS
sembly decided that minister could not
be ciyested of his Office except by deposi.
ton, suspension, or censure, after regular
trial. A proposition to amend the Form of
Government so as to allow minister to di-
vest himself of the functions OF the minis.
Other acts of the Assembly were cited !;
and now he claimed that he bad established
the fact that that is the law of the Church,
and that it is our duty to execute it until the
law is changed. Otherwise we take the
"higher.Iaw position and break through
the most sacred obligations. He would not
at present enter into discussion of the
grounds upon which the law rested it was
hot ho lot nf
He, however, maintained that the VOWS Of q
minister in entering upon the Office were
irrevocable.
The Rev. William Brown advocated the
minority report, presented by himself. The
question, he stated, was whether the Pres.
bytery had right to remove minister from
Office without q charge preferred against him
and re urn him TO the position of private
member. He would argue this question not
upon the " higher-law ground, but, first
from the Constitution of ,he Church, and, Sc
condly. from the acts of the Assembly. "Per-
petual :" as applied to officers in the Form OF
Government means that these officers shall
always exist in the Church. 1t is provided
that the Office of ruling elder shall be per-
OF minister. 1t would be unreasonable to
disturb an act OF the Presbytery on a mere
10 'erence.
In the Presbyterian Church the power
rests in the Presbytery. Synods and the
General Assembly have tie power granted
them by the Presbyteries: The power of
the Presbytery is limited to the extent that
1t has limited itself in its constitution.
Now as to the acts-of the Ger eral Assem-.
bly,. He laid down the proposition that the
General Assembly could not make law for
the Church. Furthermore, their interpre.
tatioDs of the law, whilst entitled to the
highest respect, were not the ultimate law OF
the Church.
As an Offset to the case Of the Lewes Pres
bytery, in which the Assembly say it is a
"principle" OF the Church that minister
may not be deposed without offence, he cited
from Birds Digest, page 50, lao of the
Scotch Church requiring minister to be
"deposed THAT is, divested of his Office
when insufficient for his dutes"; but the
aged and intirm are expressly excepted. In
the other cases cited by DR.. LefeVre it was a
demit'ing of the exercise Of the functions of
the office and not Of the Office itself, that was
acted on and negatived. The facts all show
divided state of opinion in the Church on
this question. Jtwould therefore be hard to
censure Presbytery f,r their acts in harmony
with ole set OF opinions.
he thought that an overture SHOULD be
sent to the Assembly to determine what the
law is; and be thought it should be deter.
mined that the Presbytery has the power
claimed. AS to irrevocable VOWS" the
sentiments uttered by the last speaker did
not sound proper In Protestant church.
DR.. Brown, in support of bis position,
read from the writings of DR.. Thornwell
to show that ordination is but giving the
sanction Of the Church to the fact that fhe
person ordained has divine call to the office.
In call to the ministry, he continued,
there is the opinion Of the minister himself,