''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' is a document drawn up by the

Westminster Assembly The Westminster Assembly of Divines was a council of divines (theologians) and members of the English Parliament appointed from 1643 to 1653 to restructure the Church of England. Several Scots also attended, and the Assembly's work was adopt ...

dealing with

Presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or ...

. It forms part of the

Westminster Standards The Westminster Standards is a collective name for the documents drawn up by the Westminster Assembly (1643–49). These include the Westminster Confession of Faith, the Westminster Shorter Catechism, the Westminster Larger Catechism, the Directo ...

, and was adopted by the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

in 1645.

Church officers

''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes four church officers: pastors, teachers/doctors, elders, and deacons. The pastor is a " minister of the gospel", while the doctor is a minister who "doth more excel in exposition of scripture, in teaching sound doctrine and convincing gainsayers than he doth in application". The doctors are thus essentially theological professors, "of most excellent use in schools and universities". The elder is distinguished from the minister, and has the role of church governance, while the

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

is "to take special care in distributing to the necessities of the poor."

Church structure

''The Form of Presbyterial Church Government'' describes how the Church should be divided up in congregations, ordinarily "by the respective bounds of their dwellings". There ought to be at least one minister per congregation, along with others to govern. These people are to meet regularly, with the minister acting as the "moderator" of the meeting. The document calls this a "congregational assembly". ''The Form'' also argues for a body called the " presbytery" or "classical assembly". It is to consist of ministers and elders, and is to have oversight of a number of congregations. The third type of assembly is the "synodical assembly", which is above the level of the presbytery.

Ordination

The final section describes how ministers are to be

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

by the presbytery. It sets the minimum age for ministers at twenty-four, and includes a comprehensive list of points on which a candidate is to be examined.

External links

The Form of Presbyterial Church Government
{{DEFAULTSORT:Form Of Presbyterial Church Government 17th-century Christian texts Westminster Assembly Presbyterian Church organisation 1645 works Westminster Standards Church of Scotland

Contents

Church officers

Church structure

Ordination

See also

External links