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Home / About Us / Who We Are / The Free Presbyterian Church Catechism / 9. Church Courts (131-140)

9. Church Courts (131-140)

131 Question. What is the name given to the governing court over a congregation?
Answer. The governing court over a congregation is called a Kirk Session.

132 Q. Who are the members of a Kirk Session?
A. The members of the Kirk Session are the minister with the ruling elders (elected by members of the congregation in full communion).

133 Q. What is a representative elder?
A. A ruling elder who represents the Kirk Session in the Presbytery and Synod is called a representative elder and requires a commission from his Kirk Session in order to attend these courts.

134 Q. What other courts besides Kirk Sessions are recognised in a Presbyterian Church?
A. Apart from Kirk Sessions, most Presbyterian Churches have Presbyteries, Synods, and General Assemblies.

135 Q. Who are the members of Presbytery?
A. All the ministers in charges, with a representative elder from each congregation within the bounds of jurisdiction set by the higher courts, are members of Presbytery (Acts 15:2, 4, 6; 1 Tim. 4:14).

136 Q. Who are members of Synod in the Free Presbyterian Church?
A. In the Free Presbyterian Church all members of each Presbytery – the ministers with all the representative elders of Kirk Sessions – are members of Synod (Acts 15:22, 23).

137 Q. What is a General Assembly?
A. A General Assembly is the supreme court of the larger Presbyterian Churches.

138 Q. Who are members of a General Assembly?
A. A General Assembly is made up only of a certain proportion of ministers and elders from Presbyteries whose number is regulated by laws passed by the General Assembly.

139 Q. Has the Free Presbyterian Church a General Assembly?
A. Up to the present date the Free Presbyterian Church has not had a General Assembly, one Synodical Court being sufficient for Church business.

140 Q. What is its Supreme Court of the Free Presbyterian Church?
A. The Synod is the Supreme Court of the Free Presbyterian Church and regulations for its affairs, and those of all the other Church courts, are to be found in the Church’s Manual of Practice.

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About Us

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      • A Catechism of the History and Principles of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland – PDF
      • 1. Origins of the Free Presbyterian Church (1-13)
      • 2. The Westminster Confession of Faith (14–22)
      • 3. The Declaratory Act and the Free Church (23–53)
      • 4. The Infallibility of Scripture (54-67)
      • 5. Erroneous Doctrines (68-77)
      • 6. Innovations in Worship (78-93)
      • 7. Church and State (94-104)
      • 8. Church office-bearers (105-130)
      • 9. Church Courts (131-140)
      • 10. Church Unity (141-149)
      • 11. Modern Religious Cults (150-159)
      • 12. Modern Errors (160-170)
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      • Appendix 1. Deed of Separation 1893
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      • Appendix 5. Memorandum on the Church of Scotland Enabling Bill 1920
    • The Declaratory Act Controversy
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      • How the Declaratory Act changed the Constitution of the Free Church
      • Explanatory Criticism of the Declaratory Act
      • The Consequences of the Declaratory Act
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      • The Constitutional Aspects of the Declaratory Act
      • A Brief History of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
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      • Subjects of Baptism – by Rev. William MacIntyre
      • Mode of Baptism – by Rev. William Macintyre
      • Should Infants be Baptised?
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        • The Origins of Fencing the Table
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      • Why the Sabbath should Still be Kept
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      • Sabbath or Lord’s Day – not “Sunday”
      • What about using Public Transport on the Sabbath?
        • Synod’s Statement in Reference to Church-going by Public Conveyances on the Sabbath
        • Historical Controversy over Using Public Transport on the Lord’s Day
    • Family worship
      • Family worship – a recent overview
      • Family worship – a recent address to young people
      • Family worship – a convicting appeal from C H Spurgeon
      • Family worship – a wartime appeal from more than a century ago
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      • Family worship – another wartime appeal
      • Family worship – an illustration of its power
    • Distinctions between Male and Female
      • Men and Women Equal in Value
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      • Can women lead in public prayer?
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      • Long hair for women and short hair for men
        • If a Woman have Long Hair, it is a Glory to Her
  • What We Believe
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      • Standing for Prayer
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      • Does the Bible tell us how we are to Worship?
      • The Importance of the Regulative Principle for Today
      • The Regulative Principle as defined by the Scottish Reformers and others
    • Exclusive Psalmody
      • Does the Bible tell us What to Sing?
      • Why Psalms Only
    • No Musical Instruments
      • Musical Instruments in Worship
    • No Christian “Festivals”
      • Should Christians Celebrate Christmas?
  • How We Are Organised
    • Church Courts
    • Scripture does teach the right form of Church Government
    • The Apostolic Church – Which Is It?
      • Statement of the Question
      • Meaning of the word Church
      • Government of the Church
      • Apostolic Principles
      • The First Principle
      • The Second Principle
      • The Third Principle
      • The Fourth Principle
      • The Fifth Principle
      • The Sixth Principle
      • Application of the Test
      • Application of the Test to Prelacy
      • Application of the Test to Independency
      • Application of the Test to Presbytery
      • Application of the Test – Result
  • Important Documents
    • The Scots Confession
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    • The Claim Declaration and Protest
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    • The Deed of Separation 1893
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