ARTICLES

OR THE ADMINISTRATION OF

CHURCH DISCIPLINE,

UNANIMOUSLY AGREED UPON, AND CONSENTED TO, BY THE ELDERS AND ALL THE CHURCHES IN THE COLONY OF CONNECTICUT, IN NEW ENGLAND, CONVENED BY DELEGATION IN A GENERAL COUNCIL AT SAYBROOK, SEP

TEMBER 9TH, 1708.

SUCH as has been narrated, in the Historical Account, on the preceding pages, were the circumstances in which the Saybrook Platform originated and in which it was sanctioned by the legislature of the colony, and adopted by most if not by all the ministers and churches. It is well known that at the period of its adoption, some diversity of opinion existed on the subject of church government. Hence the "Heads of Agreement," though not, strictly speaking, a part of the Platform, were assented to by the Convention, which "agreed that they should be observed by the churches throughout the colony" because they "were studious of keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." The fifteen "Articles for the administration of church discipline" are specially the Platform; and respecting the "Rules and Usages of associations and consociations," which tend to modify the application of these ar ticles, the committee have supposed it to be their

province to inquire with particular attention. With a view to obtain the most accurate information of which the subject admits, application has been made to the registers of the respective associations and consociations, and also to other gentlemen in different parts of the state, and recourse has been had to other sources of information Inaccuracies and deficiencies, however, may pro bably be found in this report, though we hope that our labors will not prove altogether useless; and if the result shall be a better acquaintance with our excellent constitution and a stronger attachment to it among ministers and churches, we feel that we shall not have labored in vain.

In general there has been some diversity of interpretation from the earliest period. Some pastors and churches, and some of the ecclesiastical bodies, have interpreted the articles with greater latitude, and others with less. But so far as information has been obtained, we find that all the associations and consociations in the state have, from the beginning recognized, and that they do still recognize the Platform as the basis of their organization and of their proceedings. Most or all of them, however, have their codes of By-laws, and their written constitutions, still referring to the Platform as their charter.

The result of our inquiries we give in notes appended to the several articles, as follows.

1. THAT the Elder or Elders of a particular church, with the consent of the brethren of the same, have power

and ought to exercise church discipline according to the rule of God's Word, in relation to all scandals that fall out withAnd it may be meet in all

in the same.

cases of difficulty for the respective Pastors of particular churches, to take advice of the Elders of the churches in the neighborhood, before they proceed to censure in such cases.

Matt. 18: 17; Heb. 13: 17; 1 Cor. 5: 4, 5, 12; 2 Cor. 2:6; Prov. 11: 14; Acts 15: 12.

While the above principle has been admitted, the common practice has been for the eldre or elders to lay the cases of alledged scandal before the brethren for trial and decision. They have acted rather as moderators of the church meeting than as judges on the merits of the case. So far as this article relates to the expediency of the pastor's taking advice of the elders of the chcruhes in the neighborhood, we find the customs and usages of the churches have been in conformity with the spirit of the article, though the pastors and the churches have ever considered themselves the sole judges whether it were, or were not, expedient to ask such advice before they proceeded to inflict censures.

II. That the churches which are neighboring each to other, shall consociate for mutual affording to each other

such assistance as may be requisite, upon all occasions ecclesiastical. And that the particular pastors and churches, within the respective counties in this government, shall be one consociation, (or more if they shall judge meet,) for the end aforesaid.

Psal. 122 3, 4, 5, and 133: 1; Eccl. 4: 9 to 12; Acts, 15: 2, 6, 22, 23; 1 Tim. 4: 14; 1 Cor. 16: 1.

This article, as has been already stated, was generally if not universally complied with, early in the year 1709. The committee have not been able to learn that a single church, which existed in the colony at that period, has remained unconsociated, at all times, until now. The directions of the Platform have, with a few ехсерtions, been followed from the beginning. It is, however, well known that there are at the present time several churches (about fifteen) not consociated. Some of these are churches which seceded from consociation on account of dissatisfaction with its decisions, and some are churches which have been organized long since the Platform was adopted, and which for various reasons have never joined consociation. In a few instances the associations and consociations are not bounded by county lines. This is probably owing to changes in those lines subsequently to the formation of the ecclesiastical bodies under the Platform; or to avoid the local inconveniences to which particular churches would otherwise be

subject. There are precedents where churches, which, by a change of county lines, have been placed in a county different from that in which they were located at the time of their joining the consociation, have applied to consociations for a change of their connection and the request has been granted. Thus has been exhibited the fact that the Platform has been regarded as the constitution of the churches. The churches in New Haven county, at the time of becoming consociated, stated the sense in which they understood the constitution and the principles of interpretation on which they consented to adopt it. Their record will be given at the end of these notes.

"Assistance upon all occasions ecclesiactical." usage includes Ordinations, Installations, and dismissions of Pastors; examinations of candidates for ordination or installation, in respect to their soundness in the faith and their qualifications for the work of the ministry; occasions in which advice is regularly asked by the churches or individual members; the hearing of appeals from the decisions of a consociated church; hearing and determining cases of discipline or difficulty submitted to the consociation previous to trial; trial of pastors accused of scandal or heresy on complaint or call of the association; and in general,-deliberations and advice concerning matters of common interest to the churches.

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Particular pastors and churches within, &c." It appears from this language that an elder, who is not a pastor of some church within the limits of the consociation and belonging to it, cannot be constitutionally a member of consociation.