Chapter 7: The Church's Authority in Discipline

But the object of such a severe sentence was remedial ‘for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.’ In another case, he orders the reinstatement of an offender who had apparently shown signs of remorse, saying ‘This censure from the majority is severe enough for the individual in question, so that instead of censuring you should now forgive him and comfort him, in case the man is overwhelmed by excessive remorse. So I beg you to reinstate him in your love.’^[1]

In Apostolic times, a very serious view was taken of those who deliberately proclaimed false teaching. Hymenaeus and Alexander were excommunicated for false teaching about the resurrection.^[2] 2 John 10 f. directs that a teacher of false doctrine should not be admitted to one’s house, ‘do not even greet him, for he who greets him shares in his wicked work.’^[3] St. Paul went so far as to anathematize false teachers: ‘As we have said before, so say I now again. If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema,’^[4] which is, in effect, a sentence of complete excommunication.

The Article was composed by the English Reformers in 1552 to assert the Church’s power to excommunicate and that such excommunication ought to be recognized by the faithful members of the Church. In the early Church discipline took three forms: (1) Admonition, as in Matt. 18:15‑17, Tit. 3:10; (2) Lesser Excommunication, which included suspension from Holy Communion, but not from the Church; and (3) Greater Excommunication, or Anathema, was imposed on persistent sinners who ignored repeated Admonition. If those excommunicated did not repent they were excluded from the Church, and denied all privileges of Church membership, including Communion before death, and Christian burial. Although excommunication is not often now practised, the Irish Prayer Book makes provision for all three of the above forms: (1) If a person ‘living in open and notorious sin’ proposes to come to Holy Communion, he is to be ‘privately admonished’ not to do so, ‘till the cause of the offence shall have been removed’.^[5] (2) If the offender ignores the Admonition, and comes to Communion, he is not to be received as a communicant:^[6] (3) The Burial Office is ‘not to be used for any that die unbaptized or excommunicate’.^[7] In the 1662 Prayer Book, the rubric directed that excommunications should be read out after the Nicene Creed.

Excommunication is to be ‘by open denunciation,’ which presupposes an open trial and promulgation of the Church’s sentence by some duly authorized person. Such excommunication is to remain effective until the offender is ‘openly reconciled’, as publicly as he was denounced. The ‘Judge’ in such cases would be the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Court.

^[1]2 Cor. 2:6-8 (Moffatt).

^[2]1 Tim. 1:19 f; cf. 2 Tim. 2:17 f.

^[3]2 Jn. 11 (Moffatt).

^[4]Gal. 1:9 (R. V.); The Greek word anathema is the LXX equivalent of the Hebrew word cherem, (meaning ‘curse’ of ‘ban’) and its use in Gal. 1:9, and 1 Cor. 16:22 means ‘permanent exclusion from the Church and doubtless from heaven.’ (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible (1946), p. 248. Cf. Archbishop Trench’s evidence that St. Paul’s use of the word anathema implies ‘utter loss,’ Synonyms of the N. T., p. 19.

^[5]Rubric 2 in the H. C. Office.

^[6]Canon 49, Irish Prayer Book.

^[7]Rubric I in Burial Office of Irish, Scottish, S. African (rubric 3 in Canadian) Prayer Books; American rubric directs Burial Office is ‘to be used only for the faithful departed in Christ, ... in any other case the Minister may, at his discretion, use such part of this Office, or such devotions taken from other parts of this Book, as may be fitting’.


	The Church's Authority in Discipline
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Title Contents Preface Introduction Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Appendix A Appendix B Appendix C Site Search: powered by FreeFind Copyright & Credit	But the object of such a severe sentence was remedial ‘for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.’ In another case, he orders the reinstatement of an offender who had apparently shown signs of remorse, saying ‘This censure from the majority is severe enough for the individual in question, so that instead of censuring you should now forgive him and comfort him, in case the man is overwhelmed by excessive remorse. So I beg you to reinstate him in your love.’^[1] In Apostolic times, a very serious view was taken of those who deliberately proclaimed false teaching. Hymenaeus and Alexander were excommunicated for false teaching about the resurrection.^[2] 2 John 10 f. directs that a teacher of false doctrine should not be admitted to one’s house, ‘do not even greet him, for he who greets him shares in his wicked work.’^[3] St. Paul went so far as to anathematize false teachers: ‘As we have said before, so say I now again. If any man preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him be anathema,’^[4] which is, in effect, a sentence of complete excommunication. The Article was composed by the English Reformers in 1552 to assert the Church’s power to excommunicate and that such excommunication ought to be recognized by the faithful members of the Church. In the early Church discipline took three forms: (1) Admonition, as in Matt. 18:15‑17, Tit. 3:10; (2) Lesser Excommunication, which included suspension from Holy Communion, but not from the Church; and (3) Greater Excommunication, or Anathema, was imposed on persistent sinners who ignored repeated Admonition. If those excommunicated did not repent they were excluded from the Church, and denied all privileges of Church membership, including Communion before death, and Christian burial. Although excommunication is not often now practised, the Irish Prayer Book makes provision for all three of the above forms: (1) If a person ‘living in open and notorious sin’ proposes to come to Holy Communion, he is to be ‘privately admonished’ not to do so, ‘till the cause of the offence shall have been removed’.^[5] (2) If the offender ignores the Admonition, and comes to Communion, he is not to be received as a communicant:^[6] (3) The Burial Office is ‘not to be used for any that die unbaptized or excommunicate’.^[7] In the 1662 Prayer Book, the rubric directed that excommunications should be read out after the Nicene Creed. Excommunication is to be ‘by open denunciation,’ which presupposes an open trial and promulgation of the Church’s sentence by some duly authorized person. Such excommunication is to remain effective until the offender is ‘openly reconciled’, as publicly as he was denounced. The ‘Judge’ in such cases would be the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Court. ^[1]2 Cor. 2:6-8 (Moffatt). ^[2]1 Tim. 1:19 f; cf. 2 Tim. 2:17 f. ^[3]2 Jn. 11 (Moffatt). ^[4]Gal. 1:9 (R. V.); The Greek word anathema is the LXX equivalent of the Hebrew word cherem, (meaning ‘curse’ of ‘ban’) and its use in Gal. 1:9, and 1 Cor. 16:22 means ‘permanent exclusion from the Church and doubtless from heaven.’ (Hastings Dictionary of the Bible (1946), p. 248. Cf. Archbishop Trench’s evidence that St. Paul’s use of the word anathema implies ‘utter loss,’ Synonyms of the N. T., p. 19. ^[5]Rubric 2 in the H. C. Office. ^[6]Canon 49, Irish Prayer Book. ^[7]Rubric I in Burial Office of Irish, Scottish, S. African (rubric 3 in Canadian) Prayer Books; American rubric directs Burial Office is ‘to be used only for the faithful departed in Christ, ... in any other case the Minister may, at his discretion, use such part of this Office, or such devotions taken from other parts of this Book, as may be fitting’.
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