The Historical Development of the Book of Church Order

Chapter 20 : The Election of Pastors

Paragraph 8 : Prosecution of the Call

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

DIGEST: 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 & 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.