Editorial May 10, 1900 Issue

Church By-law

BY MARY BAKER G. EDDY.

This bylaw was later republished in The Manual of The Mother Church: Man. 51:20-52:19
Man. 82:10

Only the Christian Science Board of Directors and the First Reader of the Mother Church, shall be present at meetings for the examination of complaints against Church members. Only the Board of Directors and the First Reader shall confer or vote on cases of complaints and church discipline. A complaint against a member of the Mother Church, if said member belongs to no other church, shall be laid before this Board, and within thirty days thereafter, the clerk of the Church shall address a letter of inquiry to the member complained of, as to its validity.

If the previous Christian character of the accused member is good, his reply to the clerk contradicting the accusations, or his confession thereof and compliance with our Church Rules, shall be sufficient on behalf of said member for the Board to dismiss the subject, and the clerk of the Church shall immediately so inform him. Also, the complainant shall cease to speak ill of him, or be subject to discipline and dismissal from this Church. No cards shall be removed from our periodicals except by a majority vote of the Christian Science Board of Directors and First Reader, at a meeting of the Mother Church held for this purpose, or for the examination of complaints. No Church discipline shall ensue until the requirements, according to the Scripture in Article XXVI., Section 6, of our Manual, have been strictly obeyed.

A member of the Mother Church, and a member or the Reader of a Branch Church of Christ, Scientist, shall not send to the Mother Church a complaint against another member of a Branch Church. Each Church shall separately and independently discipline its own members,—if this sad necessity ever occurs.

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