A Book of Discipline (or in its shortened form Discipline) is a book detailing the beliefs,
standards, doctrines,
canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
, and
polity of a particular
Christian denomination.
They are often re-written by the governing body of the church concerned due to changes in society and in the denomination itself.
As many Christian denominations are global, a Book of Discipline may be multilingual.
By Christian denomination
Methodism
Methodist
connexions have been using a Book of Discipline since 1784, which contains
canon law
Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...
and
doctrine
Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...
:
*The Discipline of the
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection
*The Discipline of the
Evangelical Wesleyan Church
*Book of Discipline of the
Free Methodist Church
*
Book of Discipline for the United Methodist Church
*Discipline of the
Immanuel Missionary Church
*The Discipline of the
Wesleyan Methodist Connection
Presbyterianism
*
Book of Discipline of the Church of Scotland and Book of Common Order of the Church of Scotland
Quakerism
Within Quaker Christianity, the text may be known as a ''Book of Discipline'' or a ''Manual of Faith and Practice'':
*
Book of Discipline of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) - each Yearly Meeting (national organisation of Quakers) publishes its own Book of Discipline, which may be titled the ''Book of Discipline'' or ''Faith and Practice'' or some other name.
See also
*
Code of conduct, a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization.
*
Confessionalism (religion)
In Christianity, confessionalism is a belief in the importance of Confessional subscription, full and unambiguous assent to the whole of a movement's or denomination's teachings, such as those found in Confessions of Faith, which followers believe ...
, belief that full assent to official teachings is important
*
Creed
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets.
Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...
, a statement of the shared beliefs of a community which summarize its core tenets
*
Ordnung, the set of rules for church members in the Anabaptist tradition
*
Rule of life, a ruleset describing a lifeway of a religious group
*
Social norm
A social norm is a shared standard of acceptance, acceptable behavior by a group. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into wikt:rule, rules and laws. Social norma ...
, a shared standard of acceptable behavior by a group
References
{{reflist
External links
Book of Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Church
Christian terminology
Methodism
Presbyterianism
Quakerism