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er on trial passes in the Annual Conference; that an admission on trial is a license to preach, and continuance on trial is a renewal of that license. (1911.) (¶¶90, 188, 274.)

4696. Licensing a Preacher in His Absence.-A District Conference may license a preacher in his absence, provided his examination is satisfactory to the Conference. (1900.) (¶¶90, 91, 188.)

¶697. License of a Preacher Who Is Discontinued.— The discontinuance of an unordained preacher on trial takes him out of the itinerancy, but his license to preach will continue in force till the meeting of the next District Conference, otherwise a discontinuance would really be an expulsion from the ministry. (1918.) (¶¶84, 90, 163, 188, 193.)

¶698. Who Can Recommend for License to Preach, Admission on Trial, and Readmission.-A Quarterly Conference within one district can recommend a brother to the District Conference of another district for license to preach, admission on trial, or readmission. (1896.) (¶¶90, 101, 106 [36], 188, 189.)

¶699. Recommendation for Readmission.-A traveling preacher who withdraws from the ministry and membership of our Church, and afterwards reunites with the Church, may not be recommended for readmission into an Annual Conference, but must be relicensed and begin his ministry de novo. (1893.) (¶¶90, 91, 162, 188, 775, 776, 808.)

¶700. Written Report of Local Preacher.-The law of our Church requires a local preacher to report annually in writing the extent and result of his labors; and if he fail to comply, the District Conference may refuse to pass his character, but this failure does not prevent the Conference from entering into the merits of his case and passing his character. (1907.) (¶¶90, 188, 192.)

¶701. Recommendation for Orders.-If the recommen

dation of a District Conference for orders in the local connection come for the first time before an Annual Conference within a year, it may be considered, even though the District Conference be not included within the bounds of that Annual Conference. (1901.) (¶¶52 [17, 19], 91.)

¶702. Recommendation of Licensing Committee.-The recommendation of an applicant for admission on trial by a Licensing Committee is irregular and invalid unless all its members be present and unanimously approve the recommendation. (1910.) (492.)

4703. One Conference Cannot Defy Another.-When one Conference deposes a preacher, another cannot in defiance immediately relicense him, nor recommend him for the restoration of his credentials. (1887.) (¶¶101, 309, 318, 322.)

SECTION IV

RELATING TO THE QUARTERLY CONFERENCE

¶704. No Proxy on Appeal in Quarterly Conference.— A member of a Quarterly Conference cannot vote by proxy in a case to be tried on appeal.

106 [36].)

(1897.) (¶¶97,

¶705. Appeal from a Legal Decision. An appeal of a Quarterly Conference from the decision of the presiding elder should contain, not an independent statement of the matter, but a transcript from its journal. Except in trials, an appeal must be taken by the Quarterly Conference, or a majority of it, and not by an individual member of that body. (1871, 1886, 1919.) (¶¶96, 106 [36], 132.)

¶706. Appeal to a Quarterly Conference.-Complaint against a presiding elder was made to an Annual Conference, because a Quarterly Conference over which he

had presided had declined to entertain the appeal of an expelled member of the Church. The bishop presiding decided:

1. Can a Quarterly Conference or its president decide whether an appeal shall be entertained? Answer: For justifiable reasons a Quarterly Conference may decide not to entertain an appeal.

2. When a Quarterly Conference has decided not to entertain an appeal, has its president any recourse by which he can compel it to entertain the appeal? Answer: He has not. (1877.) (¶¶106 [36], 132, 295, 319.)

¶707. Are There Any Complaints?-In a Quarterly Conference, under the question, "Are there any complaints?" the pastor was complained of for neglect of certain duties, and record was made of it. The case coming before the bishop, he decided: The question, "Are there any complaints?" applies only to official members of the local charge, and the Quarterly Conference has no jurisdiction over any member of the Annual Conference. (1875.) (¶¶97, 106 [36].)

SECTION V

RELATING TO BISHOPS

¶708. Request Regarding an Appointment Not Mandatory. The request of an Annual Conference that a Bishop shall make a specific appointment is not mandatory. (1920.) (¶118.)

¶709. Cases the College of Bishops Cannot Decide.The College of Bishops cannot deliver an official opinion on any question of law, unless it come up in regular order, as by appeal or for review. Hypothetical cases, however ingenious and interesting, cannot be entertained; but only those actually arising in the ad

ministration of Church law, and these in the way prescribed. (1867.) (¶¶122, 123, 132.)

¶710. No Decision on Settled Questions.

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though presented in due form, a question of law already settled by the College of Bishops need not be decided by the Bishop presiding. (1887.) (¶¶122, 123, 259.) 9711. What Decisions of Law Are Not Binding.-No unrecorded decision of law is of any force. (1913.) (¶¶122, 123, 132.)

SECTION VI

RELATING TO TRAVELING PREACHERS

¶712. No Right to Decline Appointment.—The law striking out a fixed sum for the support of a preacher, and leaving the stewards to estimate the salary, does not give the minister a right to decline to serve an appointment, since he had no such right before this action of the General Conference. (1867.) (¶¶52 [36], 106 [31], 118.)

¶713. Plan of the Work.-A preacher in charge has no right, immediately after Conference, to change the plan of his work so as to leave a large portion of it unsupplied. (1872.) (¶¶125, 139.)

¶714. Unlawful Certificates of Membership.-It is not lawful to give a certificate of membership to one who does not intend to move from the charge, and who declines to say what use he proposes to make of it. (1860.) (¶¶147, 159.)

¶715. Restoration of an Expelled Preacher.-A preacher who was expelled for immorality by an Annual Conference whose decision was sustained, on appeal, by the General Conference, was admitted to membership in the Church by a preacher in charge, with the advice and consent of his leading official members, without con

fession or any expression of repentance of the crime for which he had been expelled. The question arose:

"Can an Annual Conference, upon allegation of illegality in the reception of the expelled member, investigate the question whether such reception was according to law?" The following decision was approved unanimously: "It is competent for an Annual Conference to inquire into the official administration of every member of it. Nevertheless the law constitutes the preacher in charge the proper judge of the eligibility of a candidate for membership in the Church." (1867.) (¶¶309, 310, 322-324, 326, 622.)

¶716. Pastor Not Required to Consult Trustees.—The preacher in charge is not required to secure the consent of trustees of Church property before appointing a service in any Church in his charge, since the law makes it his duty "to control the appointment of all services to be held in the churches in his charge." (¶¶139, 226.)

(1896.)

¶717. Women Not Recognized as Preachers.—Our Church does not recognize women as preachers, with authority to occupy the pulpit, to read the Holy Scriptures, and to preach, as ministers of the Lord Jesus Christ; nor does it authorize a preacher in charge to invite a woman claiming to be a minister of the Lord Jesus Christ to occupy our pulpits, to expound the Scriptures as a preacher. Such invitations and services are against the authority and order of our Church. (1896.) (¶¶139, 162, 188.)

4718. Renting Parsonage Property. With the consent of the Quarterly Conference, a preacher in charge may rent the parsonage and occupy another residence. (1887.) (¶214.)

¶719. Rental of Parsonages.-It is not in harmony with our Discipline to require rent from our preachers

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