10-3
Section 11.3
10-3. The pastor is, for prudential reasons, moderator of the Session. The moderator of the Presbytery may be elected at each stated meeting of the court, or for a period of time up to one year. The moderator of the General Assembly shall be chosen at each stated meeting; he, or in case of his absence the last moderator present or the oldest minister longest a member of the court, shall open the next meeting with a sermon unless it is impracticable, and shall hold the chair until a new moderator be chosen. The moderator has all authority necessary for the preservation of order and for the proper and expeditious conduct of all business before the court, and for convening and adjourning the court according to its own ruling. In any emergency, he may by circular letter change the time or place, or both, of meeting to which the court stands adjourned, giving reasonable notice thereof.
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Chapter 11: Chapter 10: Church Courts in General
Part I — Form of Government
10-1
Section 11.1
10-1. The Church is governed by various courts, in regular gradation, which are all, nevertheless, Presbyteries, as being composed exclusively of presbyters.
10-2
Section 11.2
10-2. These courts are church Sessions, Presbyteries, and the General Assembly.
10-3
Section 11.3
10-3. The pastor is, for prudential reasons, moderator of the Session. The moderator of the Presbytery may be elected at each stated meeting of the court, or for a period of time up to one year. The moderator of the General Assembly shall be chosen at each stated meeting; he, or in case of his absence the last moderator present or the oldest minister longest a member of the court, shall open the next meeting with a sermon unless it is impracticable, and shall hold the chair until a new moderator be chosen. The moderator has all authority necessary for the preservation of order and for the proper and expeditious conduct of all business before the court, and for convening and adjourning the court according to its own ruling. In any emergency, he may by circular letter change the time or place, or both, of meeting to which the court stands adjourned, giving reasonable notice thereof.
10-4
Section 11.4
10-4. A clerk or clerks shall be elected by the Session, Presbytery, and General Assembly to serve for a definite period as determined by the court. It is the duty of the clerk, besides recording the transactions, to preserve the records carefully, and to grant extracts from them whenever properly required. Such extracts under the hand of the clerk shall be evidence to any ecclesiastical court, and to every part of the Church.
10-5
Section 11.5
10-5. Every meeting of the Session, Presbytery and General Assembly shall be opened and closed with prayer, and in closing the final session a psalm or hymn may be sung and the benediction pronounced.
10-6
Section 11.6
10-6. The expenses of ministers and ruling elders in their attendance on the courts shall be defrayed by the bodies which they respectively represent.