The Eldership Question [pp. 231-246]

1872.3 THE ELDERSHIP QUESTION. 237
"Their Elders and Deacons are annual, or at most for two
or three years; ours are nerpetual" (Prince, Chron. llist. New
Eng., p. 144).
In a summary of the main principles of Mr. Robinson and
his Church, Prince (p. 177) enumerates, "Mere Riiling Elders,
who are to help the Pastors in overseeing and ruling; that
their offices be not temporary, as among the Dutch and
French Churches, but continual.',
Permanent tenure of the office of Elder was an original feature of the Congregational Churches, and retained by them
so long as they retained the office, which was generally till
near the close of the 17th century. The Cambridge Synod of
1680 lament its dechne, and provide for its revival. The
Saybrook Platform of 1708 shows us its active existence in
Connecticut.
In these only, of all the churches using the office of Ruling
Elder, can we find even the suspicion of a life tenure up at Jeast
to the time when the Presbyterian Church in America assumed an organized form.
We propose to show:
II. That the right to choose their Elders for a term of
years was inherent in the congregations composing the Synod
in 1788, when the constitution was adopted, and was protected by that instrument.
It is a principle recognized by the highest judicial authorities, that constitutions or charters are to be interpreted, as
to their meaning, by such usages or agreements as may have
preceded them, and that rights existing at the time of their
adoption can be taken away only by the express authority
of the instrument itself.
We have seen what was the uniform us~ge of the Presby~
terian churches, from which ours avowedly drew its policy,
np to the very date of its organization. They all agreed in
limiting the tenure of the Elder's office.
It will hardly be questioned, in view of all the facts, that
the founders of the Presbyterian Church in America, in 1705,
meant to take the Church of Scotland as its model, in respect
to government and discipline. Cert~~nIy in 1729 this was
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