Presbyterian Church in America
Book of Church Order
CHAPTER 23
The Dissolution of the Pastoral Relation and
The Procedure for Honorable Retirement
23-1. When any minister shall tender the resignation of his pastoral charge
to his Presbytery, the Presbytery shall cite the church to appear by its
commissioners, to show cause why the Presbytery should or should not
accept the resignation. If the church fails to appear, or if its reasons for
retaining its pastor be deemed insufficient, his resignation shall be accepted
and the pastoral relation dissolved.
If any church desires to be relieved of its pastor, a similar procedure
shall be observed. But whether the minister or the church initiates
proceedings for a dissolution of the relation, there shall always be a meeting
of the congregation called and conducted in the same manner as the call of
the pastor. In any case, the minister must not physically leave the field until
the Presbytery or its commission empowered to handle uncontested requests
for dissolution has dissolved the relation.
The associate or assistant pastors may continue to serve a congregation when the pastoral relation of the senior pastor is dissolved, but they may not normally succeed the senior pastor without an intervening term of service in a different field of labor. However a congregation
by a secret ballot with four-fifths (4/5) majority vote may petition Presbytery for an exception
which by a three-fourths (3/4) majority vote Presbytery may grant.
Presbytery needs to determine if the dissolution of the pastoral relationship
with the senior pastor was brought about in Christian love and good order on
the part of the parties concerned.
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