High Church Court Rules: Officers Must Conform to
"Fidelity or Chastity" Requirement of the Book of Order
February 14, 2008

Supporters of the constitution received encouraging news from the denomination's high court on Monday of this week regarding a case that began in the Presbytery of Pittsburgh.

"It would be an obstruction of constitutional governance to permit examining bodies to ignore or waive a specific standard that has been adopted by the whole church, such as the "fidelity and chastity" portion of G-6.0106b, or any other similarly specific provision."

The quote is from a Feb. 11 decision of the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission (GA- PJC). It clarified that church officers must conform to the Book of Order's requirement to "live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness." (G-6.0106b)

The court ruled that ordination requirements apply to the whole church. Thus, resolutions adopted by individual presbyteries to set their own standards was declared unconstitutional. Their decision said that "adopting statements about mandatory provisions of the Book of Order for ordination and installation of officers falsely implies that other governing bodies might not be similarly bound..."

The decision helps the whole church understand the meaning and limitations of the authoritative interpretation (AI) adopted by the General Assembly in 2006. The AI was an amended version of a recommendation from the Peace, Unity, and Purity (PUP) Report.

The court's decision follows actions by the presbyteries in San Francisco and Minneapolis to grant exceptions to the requirement in G-6.0106b. Both decisions appear headed for church courts. The recent GA-PJC decision is likely to affect the outcome in those cases.

I encourage you to read the decision, which is posted on the PC(USA) website by clicking here. The following is an except from what the high court said in its ruling:

"As finally adopted by the General Assembly, the Authoritative Interpretation does not equate 'polity' with 'behavior.' Nevertheless, the church has required those who aspire to ordained office to conform their actions, though not necessarily their beliefs or opinions, to certain standards, in those contexts in which the church has deemed conformity to be necessary or essential. Section G-6.0106b contains a provision where conformity is required by church officers 'to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman (W-4.9001), or in chastity in singleness.' The church has decided to single out this particular manner of life standard and require churchwide conformity to it for all ordained church officers. Therefore, the specific 'fidelity and chastity' standard in G-6.0106b stands in contrast to the provisions of G-6.0106a, including those concerning faith, discipleship, belief and manner of life in the church and the world, and also the remainder of G-6.0106b. The candidate and examining body must follow G-6.0108 in reaching a determination as to whether the candidate for office has departed from essentials of Reformed faith and polity, but that determination does not rest on distinguishing 'belief' and 'behavior,' and does not permit departure from the 'fidelity and chastity' requirement found in G-6.0106b. Accordingly that portion of SPJC decision that stated: 'no presbytery may grant an exception to any mandatory church wide behavioral ordination standard,' was correct. We agree with the SPJC that, 'Under our polity, violations of behavioral standards are to be addressed through repentance and reconciliation, not by exception or exemption. The freedom of conscience granted in G- 6.0108 allows candidates to express disagreement with the wording or meaning of provisions of the constitution, but does not permit disobedience to those behavioral standards.' The fidelity and chastity provision may only be changed by a constitutional amendment. Until that occurs, individual candidates, officers, examining and governing bodies must adhere to it."

We in the Coalition are thankful for the Presbyterians in sessions and presbyteries who contributed to this very helpful decision by seeking clarity in their own policies.

Stand fast, be encouraged, and continue in prayer.

Sincerely,

Terry Schlossberg
The Presbyterian Coalition

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