Ecclesiastical Law and Rules of Evidence

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. In the Methodist Episcopal Church the power of ex communication lies with the minister or preacher in charge, after the accused party shall have been arraigned on specific charges and shall have been duly tried and convicted by a jury of his peers according to provisions laid down in the Book of Discipline. The Constitution of the Church pro vides that no law or rule shall ever be made by the General Conference doing away the privilege of accused ministers or members of trial by conference or committee, and of the right of appeal. In order that the constitutional guarantee should be made good, it became necessary for the General Conference to create or designate certain tribunals for the trial of accused persons - some of these tribunals to have original, and others appellate, jurisdiction - and to establish general principles and rules of proceedings in all Church trials. Hence arose the whole system of ecclesiastical jurisprudence of the Methodist Episcopal Church.