Guide to the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission Records

Descriptive Summary

Title

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission Records

Inclusive Dates

1922-1968

Call Number

RG 18

Creator(s)

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Permanent Judicial Commission

Quantity

5.00 cubic feet

Restrictions on Access

Unpublished Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) case briefs less than fifty years old from the date the decision is certified by the PJC are completely closed.

Repository

Presbyterian Historical Society, 425 Lombard Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147-1516 USA

Biographical Note / Administrative History

Administrative History

The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly was established in 1907 and the provisions relating to it became a part of the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the USA. The following year, the General Assembly established the Standing Committee on Judicial Business and assigned to it the duties of deciding the question of the regularity of papers, determining whether questions raised were questions of doctrine or constitution and, upon deciding there was a case, to recommend it to General Assembly for reference to the Permanent Judicial Commission. When the General Assembly meeting in 1925 abolished this Standing Committee, it became the duty of the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly to transmit directly to the Permanent Judicial Commission "all papers which purport to be judicial in character leaving it to the Permanent Judicial Commission to return to the General Assembly any papers deemed by it without the sphere of its jurisdiction."

The Presbyterian system of government is representative in character. Representatives elected by the people represent them in a series of graded courts, in ascending order: the Session, the Presbytery, the Synod, and the General Assembly. Each of the higher courts has jurisdiction over the lower and the individuals in them. Each is governed by majority rule. The General Assembly is the supreme court of the Church and its decisions are final. The Permanent Judicial Commission of the General Assembly was empowered to receive all complaints and appeals regularly before it from the actions of the inferior judicatories. Complaints had to do with non-judicial or administrative cases; appeals with judicial cases. Record Group 18 includes some of each of these types, judicial cases and non-judicial cases.

Collection Overview

The materials comprising Record Group 18 were accumulated in the Office of the General Assembly during the Stated Clerkships of Lewis Seymour Mudge, 1921-1938; William Barrow Pugh, 1938-1950; Eugene Carson Blake, 1951-1965; and William P. Thompson, 1966-68.

Organization and Arrangement

Series 1: RECORDS OF JUDICIAL CASES AND NON-JUDICIAL CASES, 1922-1968
This series includes a variety of legal documents, e.g. transcripts of proceedings, charges and specifications, minutes, notices of appeals, exhibits entered in evidence, and briefs.

Series 2: INDEPENDENT BOARD FOR PRESBYTERIAN FOREIGN MISSIONS, 1934-36
These materials relate to the schismatic Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions, established by fundamentalist Presbyterians such as J. Gresham Machen "to carry on truly Biblical and truly Presbyterian foreign missionary work."

Related Material

Administrative Information

Processing Information

A few items have been placed in Box 1, folder 1 to provide background on the constitution of the PCUSA and also on the schismatic movement within the Church which led to some of the cases included in the collection.
Collection processed: June 1968

Milton Kenin, Records Researcher
Collection reprocessed and finding aid prepared: 1983

Jane M. Ramsay

Catalog Headings

The following headings have been used to index the description of this collection in the society’s electronic catalog.

Corporate Subject

Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions Trials, litigation, etc.

Topical Subject

Ecclesiastical courts Cases.

Ecclesiastical law Interpretation and construction.

Legal documents. aat

Minutes. aat

Transcripts. aat

Corporate Added Name

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1921-1938 : Mudge)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1938-1950 : Pugh)

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1951-1958 : Blake)

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1958-1965 : Blake)

United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Stated Clerk (1966-1983 : Thompson)

Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions.

Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly. Permanent Judicial Commission.

Collection Inventory

Box	Folder	Description

1	1	Finding Aid to Record Group

		SERIES 1: RECORDS OF JUDICIAL CASES AND NON-JUDICIAL CASES, 1922-1968

1	2	Logie and Edgar vs. Arizona Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1), 1928-31
	3	Eagleson vs. Baltimore Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1), 1935-38
	4	Eagleson vs. Baltimore Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1), 1935-43
	5	Dorrance vs. California Synod (Non-Judicial Case 4), 1929-31
	6	Dorrance vs. California Synod (Non-Judicial Case 4), 1929-31
	7	Mercereau vs. California Synod (Non-Judicial Case 3), 1931-32
	8	Holloway et al. vs. California Synod (Non-Judicial Case 12), 1936
	9	Tanner vs. California Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1), 1927-28
	10	Tanner and Whiteman vs. Synod of California (Non-Judicial Case 5), 1929-30
	11	Mayle vs. Canadian Synod (Judicial Case 1), 1938
	12	Hector et al. vs. Catawba Synod (Non-Judicial Case 2), 1938
	13	Anderson vs. Colorado Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1 and Judicial Case 1), 1944
	14	Charges against Martin E. Anderson--Transcript of Proceedings, October-November 1943

2	1-3	Anderson--Transcript of Testimony before a Commission of Denver Presbytery, June 23-July 11, 1942 (Volume 1)
	4-6	Anderson--Transcript (Volume 2)
	7	Buswell vs. Illinois Synod (Judicial Case 5), 1936
	8	Kell vs. Illinois Synod, 1937-38
	9	Baker, Joseph E. And Matilda J, Appellants vs. Iowa Synod, Appellee (Judicial Case 1)
	10-13	Bakers--Transcript of Proceedings--Original ms
	14	Bakers--Exhibits Admitted in Evidence--Original mss. 1966-67
	15	Baker, Joseph E. vs. Iowa Synod--Respondent (Non-Judicial Case 5), 1968
	16	Baker, Matilda J, Complainant vs. Iowa Synod--Respondent (Non-Judicial Case 6), 1968

3	1-2	Williams vs. Michigan Synod (Judicial Cases 2 and 3), 1953-54
		Williams--Transcript of Proceedings, 1954
	4	Goff et al. vs. Missouri Synod (Judicial Case 5), 1925-26
	5	Cunningham vs. Synod of New Jersey (Judicial Case 6), 1922-26
	6	The Continuing Minorities of the First and South Street Presbyterian Churches of Morristown, N.J. vs. Morris and Orange Presbytery (Judicial Case 8), 1922; 1925-27
	7	Inglis et al. vs. New Jersey Synod (Judicial Case 6), 1926-27
	8	Chamberlin et al. vs. New Jersey Synod (Non-Judicial Case 8), 1936
	9	Complaint against Pennsylvania Synod re its Action in the Complaint of Members of Philadelphia Presbytery vs. the Presbytery of Philadelphia in the Matter of Receiving Machen from New Brunswick Presbytery, 1934
	10	PCUSA vs. J. Gresham Machen, 1935
	11-12	Machen vs. New Jersey Synod (Judicial Case 3), 1936
	13	Henry B. Master et al. vs. J. Gresham Machen, et al. 1937
	14	New Jersey Synod--Miscellaneous Documents 1934-36
	15	Adam vs. New York Synod (Non-Judicial Case 4), 1923-24;1927-28

4	1	Buchanan et al. vs. New York Synod (Judicial Cases 3 and 4), 1925-26
	2	Hamilton vs. New York Presbytery (Judicial Case 3), 1926-28
	3	North River Presbytery vs. New York Synod (Non-Judicial Case 1), 1944-45
	4	Altvater vs. Ohio Synod and Toledo Presbytery Judicial Cases 5A and 5B), 1927-28
	5	Hills vs. Ohio Synod (Judicial Case No 1), 1929-31
	6	Hills, 1931-32
	7	Cremonesi vs. Carlisle Presbytery (Judicial Case 7), 1923-1928
	8-9	Fulton et al. vs. Pennsylvania Synod (Non-Judicial Cases 2-4), 1930-36
	10	Complaint against Pennsylvania Synod for Sustaining Complaint against Chester Presbytery in the Matter of Licensing Blackstone and Kauffroth, 1934
	11	Complaint of Pennsylvania Synod re Sustaining of Complaint of James B. McGettigan et al. vs. Chester Presbytery, 1934
	12	Chester Presbytery, 1934-39
	13	Shaw et al. vs. Philadelphia Presbytery (Non-Judicial Case 10), 1935
	14	Griffiths et al. vs Pennsylvania Synod (Judicial Case 1), 1936
	15	McDowell et al. vs Pennsylvania Synod (Non-Judicial Case 7), 1936
	16	Schall et al. vs. Pennsylvania Synod (Non-Judicial Case 3), 1936
	17	Rogers et al. vs. Pennsylvania Synod (Non-Judicial Cases 1 and 2), 1936
	18	Petition and Memorial from Certain Ministers and Ruling Elders of Philadelphia Presbytery to the 147th General Assembly, 1935
	19	Pennsylvania Synod--Miscellaneous Documents, 1930-36
	20	Pennsylvania Synod--Miscellaneous Documents, 1934-37
	21	Crombie vs. South Dakota Synod (Judicial Case 2), 1937
	22	Fee vs. Salt Lake Presbytery (Judicial Case 7), 1925
	23	Brumbaugh vs. Washington Synod, 1935
	24	Minority Members of the Congregation of Kanawha Presbyterian Church of Charleston, WV vs. WV Synod (Judicial Case 5), 1926-27
	26-27	Perkins vs. Wisconsin Synod--Transcripts of Proceedings

5	1-2	Perkins--Transcripts of Proceedings
	3	Perkins--Exhibits, 1934-36
	4	Perkins--Abridged Transcript of Testimony; Miscellaneous Documents, 1934-36
	5	Milwaukee Presbytery and the Cedar Grove Case--Commission Reports and Miscellany, 1934-35
	6	De Waard vs. Wisconsin Synod-- (Non-Judicial Case 10), 1935-36
	7	Wisconsin Synod--Miscellaneous Papers, 1934-1935
	8	Judicial Cases 1-5, 1936
	9	Non-Judicial Cases 1-16, 1936

		SERIES 2: INDEPENDENT BOARD FOR PRESBYTERIAN FOREIGN MISSIONS, 1934-36

5	10	Publications, Copy of Charter, 1934
	11	Correspondence and Miscellaneous Items
	12	Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1934-1936

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Guide to the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission Records

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