Watter sake hoort by meerdere vergaderings?

Abstract

Which issues should be dealt with by major assemblies?
It seems as if the reformed churches, in their distinction between minor and major assemblies, will always have to keep a balance between maintaining the right of the congregation as a fully-fledged church and the necessity or right of the church as a denomination. In order to achieve this, Article 30 of the Church Order of Dordt 1619 was the temporary end of a development in that church order tradition which carries the name of Dordt. Freely translated, Article 30 states: Major assemblies shall deal only with those matters which concern its churches in common or which could not be finished in the minor assemblies. With minor changes made by some churches, this formulation has withstood the test of time up till today. It can, however, also stand up to a test based on a sound reformed ecclesiology. Such an ecclesiology accepts in principle that the congregation is a fully-fledged church, but, at the same time, also sees the need for a meaningful bond between congregations (the denomination) as a visible sign of the unity of the church. In this bond major assemblies – like consistories – could also only act under an authority entrusted to them by Christ.