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Barrier Act
In the ecclesiastical law of the Church of Scotland, the Barrier Act of 1697 is a measure which compels the General Assembly to consult the wider Church before innovating in the areas of worship, doctrine, discipline or church government. It is a provision which prevents the General Assembly from making core innovations which might profoundly affect the polity of the church without first referring these to the presbyteries. A matter which falls under the Barrier Act must first be passed by the General Assembly, then be referred in the form of an ''overture'' to the presbyteries and ratified by a majority of these, before being returned to the General Assembly of the following year and passed again there. This is intended to prevent rash decisions to the long-term detriment of the church. Important matters which fell under the Barrier Act in recent years include the ordination of women, which was passed in the 1960s, and the proposed union with the Scottish Episcopal Church ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiastical Law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law, or operational policy, governing the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches), the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the individual national churches within the Anglican Communion. The way that such church law is legislated, interpreted and at times adjudicated varies widely among these four bodies of churches. In all three traditions, a canon was originally a rule adopted by a church council; these canons formed the foundation of canon law. Etymology Greek / grc, κανών, Arabic / , Hebrew / , 'straight'; a rule, code, standard, or measure; the root meaning in all these languages is 'reed'; see also the Romance-language ancestors of the English ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the reformed tradition. The church is Calvinist Presbyterian, having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus. The annual meeting of its general assembly is chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland celebrates two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper in Reformed theology, Lord's Supper, as well as five other Rite (Christianity), rites, such as Confirmation and Christian views on marriage, Matrimony. The church adheres to the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. History Presbyterian tra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General Assembly Of The Church Of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition (2006 updated text) It generally meets each year and is chaired by a Moderator elected at the start of the Assembly. Church courts As a Presbyterian church, the Church of Scotland is governed by courts of elders rather than by bishops. At the bottom of the hierarchy of courts is the Kirk Session, the court of the parish; representatives of Kirk Sessions form the Presbytery, the local area court. Formerly there were also Synods at regional level, with authority over a group of presbyteries, but these have been abolished. At national level, the General Assembly stands at the top of this structure. Meetings General Assembly meetings are usually held in the Assembly Hall on the Mound, Edinburgh. This was originally buil ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ecclesiastical Polity
Ecclesiastical polity is the operational and governance structure of a church or of a Christian denomination. It also denotes the ministerial structure of a church and the authority relationships between churches. Polity relates closely to ecclesiology, the study of doctrine and theology relating to church organization. ''Ecclesiastical polity'' is defined as both the subject of ecclesiastical government in the abstract and the particular system of government of a specific Christian organization. The phrase is sometimes used in civil law. History Questions of ecclesiastical government are first documented in the first chapters of the '' Acts of the Apostles'' and "theological debate about the nature, location, and exercise of authority, in the church" has been ongoing ever since. The first act recorded after the Ascension of Jesus Christ was the election of Saint Matthias as one of the Twelve Apostles, to replace Judas Iscariot. The Twelve Apostles were the first to instan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Presbytery (presbyterian Church)
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 ''consistory'', though other terms, such as ''church board'', may apply.For example, the Church of the Nazarene, which subscribes to a body of religious doctrines that are quite distinct from those of most properly named Presbyterian denominations (and which instead descends historically from the Wesleyan Holiness Movement), employs a blend of congregationalist, episcopal, and presbyterian polities; its local churches are governed by an elected body known as the church board or simply "board members"; the term elder in the Nazarene Church has a different use entirely, referring to an ordained minister of that denomination. Groups of local churches are governed by a higher assembly of elders known as the presbytery or classis; presbyte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ordination Of Women In The Church Of Scotland
The Church of Scotland was one of the first national churches to accept the ordination of women. In Presbyterianism, ordination is understood to be an ordinance rather than a sacrament; ministers and elders are ordained; until recently deacons were "commissioned" but now they too are ordained to their office in the Church of Scotland. Background Women were commissioned as deacons (or "deaconesses") from 1888, and allowed to preach from 1949. Serious debate on the ordination of women as ministers began when Mary Levison petitioned the General Assembly for ordination in 1963. She was eventually ordained as a Minister of Word and Sacrament in 1978, and in 1991 became the first woman to be appointed as Queen's Chaplain. In a Presbyterian Church, elders (who together with the minister form the kirk session and fulfill some of the functions of a parish council in other denominations) are ordained for life (''ad vitam aut culpam'') though in some cases without the laying-on of hands. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and as it was from the Restoration of King Charles II to the re-establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland following the Glorious Revolution, it recognises the archbishop of Canterbury as president of the Anglican Instruments of Communion, but without jurisdiction in Scotland ''per se''. This close relationship results from the unique history of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. In terms of official membership, Episcopalians today constitute well under 1 per cent of the population of Scotland, making them considerably smaller than the Church of Scotland. The membership of the church in 2019 was 27,585, of whom 19,784 were communicant members. Weekly att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Church Order
Church order is the systematically organized set of rules drawn up by a qualified body of a local church. P. Coertzen. ''Church and Order''. Belgium: Peeters. From the point of view of civil law, the ''church order'' can be described as the internal law of the church. A ''church order'' explains precisely what a document is, in a clinical and matter of fact tone, without conveying the spiritual nature of the document. Authority The authority of a ''church order'' is very closely linked to its relationship to Scriptures and the confessional texts of a church. The fact that a ''church order'' provision is supported directly or indirectly by the Scriptures will to some degree, though not essentially, affect its authority. Evolution The British biblical scholar, B. H. Streeter identifies the Johannine epistles as the culmination of the New Testament understanding of church order with the author of Third Epistle of John confronting a serious matter as an official with recognize ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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