The Historical Development of the Book of Church Order

Chapter 19 : The Licensure of Candidates for the Gospel Ministry and Internship

Paragraph 11 : Of Transfer & Re-examination

19-11. When any intern shall have occasion, while his internship is in progress, to remove from the bounds of his own Presbytery into those of another, the latter Presbytery may, at its discretion, on his producing proper testimonials from the former, take up his internship at the point at which it was left, and conduct it to a conclusion in the same manner as if it had been commenced by itself. Presbytery shall repeat any portion of the previous Presbytery’s examination it desires, but it must at least examine the intern on:
a. his Christian experience,
b. his call to the ministry,
c. his views in theology, and
d. church government.
When God gives the intern the providential opportunity to serve the Church and to receive part of his training within the bounds of a Presbytery other than the one in which he has been declared an intern, the Presbyteries involved may develop a cooperative agreement to assure the proper training of the intern. In such cases the home Presbytery retains the final responsibility for and authority over the internship, but may rely to any extent considered necessary and proper in the circumstances, on the assistance of the sister Presbytery. When regular preaching of the Word is involved, care must be taken to comply with BCO 19-1.

DIGEST:

BACKGROUND & COMPARISON:

PCA 1973, Adopted text
Continuing Presbyterian Church 1973, Proposed text
PCUS 1933

PCUS 1879, Chapter VI, Section VI, Paragraph 9.
When any candidate for licensure shall have occasion, while his trials are going on, to remove from the bounds of his own Presbytery into the bounds of another, it shall be considered regular for the latter Presbytery, on his producing proper testimonials from the former, to take up his trials at the point at which they were left, and conduct them to a conclusion in the same manner as if they had been commenced by itself.

PCUS 1869 draft
PCUS 1867 draft

COMMENTARY:
F.P. Ramsay, Exposition of the Book of Church Order (1898)
IX. When any candidate for licensure shall have occasion, while his trials are going on, to remove from the bounds of his own Presbytery into the bounds of another, it shall be considered regular for the latter Presbytery, on his producing proper testimonials from the former, to take up his trials at the point at which they were left, and conduct them to a conclusion in the same manner as if they had been commenced by itself.
But the latter Presbytery may, if it thinks best, repeat any or all of his former trials.