The Constitution within the Constitution.

The Constitution of the PC(USA) is no longer the constitution, at least according to our Stated Clerk of the General Assembly. Check out this letter from him.

Our Form of Government says it well in G-4.0300d, “Presbyterians are not simply to reflect the will of the people, but rather to seek together to find and represent the will of Christ.”

It is this vision that is at the heart of our Constitution. It is why, in part, it is so important for us to remind Presbyterians that faithfulness to the Constitution is critical as we deal with difficult issues in our life together.

I am particularly concerned about proposals that I hear are coming to some of our presbyteries that are not in accord with our Constitution and its authoritative interpretations (which also have the binding authority of the Constitution itself). I hope, in your role as stated clerks, you will join me in reminding Presbyterians that while dissent and advocacy for change are deeply engrained Presbyterian values, no presbytery by any vote margin has the authority to take actions that are not in accord with the Constitution, or to set aside its provisions.

Among the proposals that are of particular concern to me:

• Actions by a presbytery that in essence set aside the assembly’s authoritative interpretation of G-6.0108 and require subscription to all or specific constitutional standards. Examinations are to be conducted based on constitutional standards established by the whole church, but ordination and installation decisions are to be made by ordaining bodies based on whether “the candidate has departed from essentials of Reformed faith and polity” (G-6.0108b). Authoritative interpretations can be changed by new interpretations from the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission or the assembly itself, and presbyteries may send in overtures seeking such change, but presbyteries cannot set aside, on their own, standards clearly specified in an already adopted authoritative interpretation.

The constitution is no longer the constitution. Oh yes, I know the new authoritative interpretation on G-6.0108 is part of the constitution, but at least according to this letter by the Stated Clerk he believes it overrides any previously mandated language in the Constitution. Our denomination would be more honest if we just deleted everything else from the Book of Order (book 2 of our constitution) and just leave new AI as the constitution. (Maybe that will be the FOG taskforce recommendation—that certainly would explain how they can rewrite the whole Form of Government in 18 months or less).

In the mind of the Stated Clerk this new AI limits presbyteries from actually instituted procedures and policies that require officers (or potential officers) to abide by mandate provisions in the constitution. So this new AI makes it unconstitutional to enforce the constitution. So if it is unconstitutional to require all to abide by the constitutional why do we need to abide by the new AI (which is a part of the constitution). It is absurd—but suddenly we have a constitution within the constitution and it is the new AI. I am sure glad all the presbyteries got to vote on this radical change to the constitution (or wait—they didn’t). How constitutional!