The Form of Presbyterial Church Government

Cover page of 1648 edition.

The Form of Presbyterial Church Government is a document drawn up by the Westminster Assembly dealing with Presbyterian polity. It forms part of the Westminster Standards, and was adopted by the Church of Scotland in 1645.

## Contents

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### Church officers

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The Form of Presbyterial Church Government describes four church officers: pastors, teachers/doctors, elders, and deacons.

The pastor is a "minister of the gospel", while the doctor is a minister who "doth more excel in exposition of scripture, in teaching sound doctrine and convincing gainsayers than he doth in application". The doctors are thus essentially theological professors, "of most excellent use in schools and universities".

The elder is distinguished from the minister, and has the role of church governance, while the deacon is "to take special care in distributing to the necessities of the poor."

### Church structure

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A diagram of presbyterian polity according to The Form of Presbyterial Church Government

The Form of Presbyterial Church Government describes how the Church should be divided up in congregations, ordinarily "by the respective bounds of their dwellings". There ought to be at least one minister per congregation, along with others to govern. These people are to meet regularly, with the minister acting as the "moderator" of the meeting. The document calls this a "congregational assembly".

The Form also argues for a body called the "presbytery" or "classical assembly". It is to consist of ministers and elders, and is to have oversight of a number of congregations.

The third type of assembly is the "synodical assembly", which is above the level of the presbytery.

### Ordination

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The final section describes how ministers are to be ordained by the presbytery. It sets the minimum age for ministers at twenty-four, and includes a comprehensive list of points on which a candidate is to be examined.

## See also

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* Ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland
* Richard Hooker

## External links

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* The Form of Presbyterial Church Government

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The Westminster Assembly

Documents|

* Westminster Confession of Faith
* Westminster Larger Catechism
* Westminster Shorter Catechism
* Directory for Public Worship
* Form of Presbyterial Church Government

People|

* John Arrowsmith
* Simeon Ashe
* Robert Baillie
* Thomas Baylie
* Robert Blair
* Samuel Bolton
* John Bond
* William Bridge
* Ralph Brownrigg
* Anthony Burges
* Cornelius Burges
* Jeremiah Burroughs
* Adoniram Byfield
* Richard Byfield
* Edmund Calamy
* Archibald Campbell
* John Campbell
* Richard Capel
* Joseph Caryl
* Thomas Case
* Daniel Cawdry
* William Cecil
* Francis Cheynell
* John Clotworthy
* Thomas Coleman
* John Conant
* Edward Conway
* John Cook
* Edward Corbet
* Robert Crosse
* Robert Devereux
* Robert Douglas
* Calybute Downing
* John Dury
* John Earle
* John Elphinstone
* Daniel Featley
* Basil Feilding
* Nathaniel Fiennes
* William Fiennes
* Thomas Ford
* Thomas Gataker
* George Gillespie
* John Glynne
* Thomas Goodwin
* William Gouge
* William Greenhill
* William Grey
* John Hacket
* Matthew Hale
* Henry Hammond
* Robert Harley
* John Harris
* Robert Harris
* Arthur Haselrig
* Alexander Henderson
* Philip Herbert
* Charles Herle
* Thomas Hill
* Richard Holdsworth
* Edward Howard
* Joshua Hoyle
* Archibald Johnston
* John Ley
* John Lightfoot
* Richard Love
* William Lyford
* John Maitland
* Stephen Marshall
* John Maynard
* William Mew
* Edward Montagu
* George Morley
* Matthew Newcomen
* William Nicholson
* Philip Nye
* Herbert Palmer
* Algernon Percy
* Andrew Perne
* William Pierrepont
* John Pym
* Edward Reynolds
* Robert Reynolds
* Henry Rich
* Francis Rous
* Benjamin Rudyerd
* Samuel Rutherford
* Robert Sanderson
* Henry Scudder
* Lazarus Seaman
* Obadiah Sedgwick
* John Selden
* Josias Shute
* Sidrach Simpson
* William Spurstowe
* Edmund Staunton
* Peter Sterry
* Oliver St John (1580–1646)
* Oliver St John (1598–1673)
* William Strode
* William Strong
* Zouch Tate
* Henry Tozer
* Anthony Tuckney
* William Twisse
* Henry Vane the Elder
* Henry Vane the Younger
* Richard Vines
* George Walker
* Samuel Ward
* Thomas Westfield
* Philip Wharton
* Jeremiah Whitaker
* John White
* Bulstrode Whitelocke
* John Wilde
* Henry Wilkinson
* Walter Yonge
* Thomas Young

* Westminster Abbey
* Jerusalem Chamber

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