The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1876-02-23
For THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN
A NEEDED CHANGE.
No. 3.

1t was seen from the historical review of
last week, though the matter of striking out
chap. X. sec. 4, Form of Government, has
been decided by the General Assembly, upon
the returns of the Presbyteries, it was de-
cided adversely by the default of Presby-
teries; and as far as the overture was an
swered there was majority of more than
two to one in favor of the change.
Is there not reason for striking out
What is a Presbytery? GA Presbytery
consists of all the ministers and one ruling
elder from each congregation within certain
district" Form of Government chap. X,
sec. 2.
The same chapter (sec. 3 tells US that if
congregation has pastor it is entitled to
representation by one elder. And if it is a
collegiate church with two or more pastors,
it is entitled to be Apresented by as many
elders as it has pa1
From this it SO 10 be the principle to
have as many ri Ss teaching elders in
To counter balaS 6 section 8, the fourth
section says that if "two or more congrega-
tious are united under one pastor, all such
congregations shall have but one elder to
represent them" Thus the number of ell
ders is not allowed to exceed the number of
ministers. While the Presbytery tit seems)
may have as many ruling as teaching elders,
it must not have more.
presume in order to make the exact bal
ance, that ministers without charges are en-
titled to seats, and vacant congregations are
entitled to representation.
All this is very pretty. But if church
is an organized church, however feeble, how
ever unable to sustain pastor for the whole
of his time, it is still church, an organized
body, and, as such, entitled to its represen'
tative. If the practice of the book be cor
rect, it seems at variance with the theory.
1t may be said that if church goes into
a coalition in order to support a pastor, it
thereby voluntarily surrenders its separate
existence and becomes part of a new pas
torate. But this is not what the book says.
Nor is this what the Minutes say. If this
be the case, 4. e., if church by uniting with
others gives up its life and becomes part
of new organization, then let the Presby-
terry say so, meeting the difficulty plainly
But do not let US have the Minutes saying
that "the Presbytery consists of so many
ministers and SO many churches, naming
the parts of pastOrates as churches if they
are not churches.
If church is entitled to separate exis.
tence, if in the judgment of Presbytery il
deserves an organization and name among
its fellows, then it surely deserves to be rep
resented with and among its equals.
The evil of a law may be seen in its prac
tical working. According to the existing
rule, if four churches are united under one
pastor, it would be two years (there being
two Presbyteries year, before each church
would have its own elder on the floor of Pres
bytery, and four years before such could b.
the privilege in Synod. We encourage fee
BILE churches to make these combinations.-
We are gratifed at the exhibition of lif
thus shown. We applaud their struggling
efforts to live and grow; and reward ther
by taking away their privileges, if not thei
rights While they remained vacant the.
would each be entitled to a representative
And every vacant church in the Presbytery
too small and feeble, or too Indifferent an
indOlent, to have even the fourth Of pas
tors time, is entitled to four times their vOiC
and vote in Presbytery and Synod.
Further we may see the practical workin
of the law in this: we hold that the pastor
al relation is the true one. The relation {
stated supply is not recognized in the bool
Strictly speaking there is no such relation
1t is suffered because of "hardness of heart.
"From the beginning it was not So" Th
operation of this law rs to check the pastors
relation and foster that of the supply.