.

The Historical Development of the PCA Book of Church Order

Chapter 20 : The Election of Pastors

Paragraph 8 :

20-8. Prosecution of call: One or more commissioners shall be appointed by the church to present and prosecute the call before their Presbytery.

[Historical Summary : The current PCA text dates to the 1925 revision of the PCUS BCO. This revision added a clarification that the commissioners are to be from the church extending the call.]

Background and Comparison :
1. PCA 1973, 21-8, Adopted text, as printed in the Minutes of General Assembly, p. 140
2. Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, 21-8, Proposed text, p. 27
3. PCUS 1933, XXIII, §128
4. PCUS 1925, XXIII, §128
Prosecution of Call.
One or more commissioners shall be appointed by the church to present and prosecute the call before the Presbytery.

PCUS 1879, VI-3-8
One or more commissioners shall be appointed to present and prosecute the call before the Presbytery.

PCUS 1869 draft, VI-3-8
Commissioners shall be appointed to lay the call before the Presbytery for its approval, and to prosecute it to its final issue.

PCUS 1867 draft, VI-3-8
Commissioners shall be appointed to lay the call before the presbytery for its approval, and to prosecute it to its final issue.

COMMENTARY :
F.P. Ramsay, Exposition of the Book of Church Order (1898, p. 132) on VI-3-8 :
109.--VIII. One or more commissioners shall be appointed to present and prosecute the call before Presbytery.
These it belongs to the congregation to select.



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Chapter Index [links to Par. 1 of each chapter]:
FoG..
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3.
4
5.
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7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
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18
19
20
21
22
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24
25
26
I. King & Head of Church
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§4
§5
RoD
27
28
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30
31
32
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34
35
36
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40
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II. Preliminary Principles
§1
§2
§3
§4
§5
§6
§7
§8
DfW
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
[FoG = Form of Government ; RoD = Rules of Discipline ; DfW = Directory for Worship]