¶ 155. Whenever the Orders of a Minister are recognized according to the foregoing provisions he shall be furnished with a Certificate, signed by the Bishop, in the following words, namely:

"This is to Certify that the...... Annual Conference, having examined the Credentials of the Rev....... as (an Elder or a Deacon) of the ...... Church, and having received other testimonials of his Grace, Gifts, and Usefulness, and being satisfied therewith, has this day accepted and recognized him in due form as (an Elder or a Deacon) in the Methodist Episcopal Church, entitled to exercise under its authority all the functions pertaining to that office, so long as his life and doctrine become the Gospel of Christ.

"Given under my hand and seal at
... day of ... . in the year of our Lord

....."

.....

this

¶ 156. When the Orders of a Minister of another Church shall have been duly recognized, his Credentials from said Church shall be returned to him with this inscription written plainly across the face of them:

"Accredited by the ...... Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, this ...... of......, 18.., as the basis of new Credentials.

IV. Ministers in Official Positions.

¶ 157. Traveling Preachers who are elected to official positions by the General Conference shall be Members of such Annual Conference as they may, with the approbation of the Bishops, select.

V. Termination of Conference Membership.

1. By Location.

¶ 158. An Annual Conference may grant to any Member who is in good standing therein a Location, certified by the President of the Conference. Such Minister shall thereupon hold his membership as a Local Elder (or Deacon) in the Quarterly Conference where he resides. T 198, § 3.

¶ 159. Whenever a Member of an Annual Conference applies for a Location, it shall be asked, Is he indebted to the Book Concern? and if it be ascertained that he is, the Conference shall require him to secure said debt, if they judge it necessary or proper, before they grant him a Location.

2. By Surrender of the Ministerial Office.

¶ 160. Any Member of an Annual Conference in good standing, who may desire to surrender his Ministerial Office and withdraw from the Conference, may be allowed to do so by the Conference at its session; in which case his Credentials shall be filed with the papers of the Annual Conference of which he was a Member, and his membership in the Church may be recorded in any Society within whose bounds he may wish to reside.

3. By Withdrawal.

¶ 161, § 1. When a Minister in good standing withdraws to join the Ministry of another Church, his Credentials should be surrendered to the Conference, and, if he shall desire it, may be returned to him with the

§ 2. When in the interval of the Annual Conference a Member thereof shall deposit with a Bishop or with his Presiding Elder a letter of withdrawal from our Ministry, or his Credentials, or both, the same shall be presented to the Annual Conference at its next session for its action thereon.

4. By Refusal to do the Work Assigned.

¶ 162. No Member of an Annual Conference who declines, or ceases, to do the work to which he was duly appointed, except in case of sickness, serious disability, or other unavoidable circumstance, shall on any account exercise the peculiar functions of his Office, whether Deacon or Elder, or even be allowed to preach among us; nevertheless, the final determination in every such case is with the Annual Conference. T 227.

CHAPTER III.

DEACONS.

¶ 163. A Deacon is constituted by the election of the Annual Conference and the laying on of the hands of a Bishop.

¶ 164. A Deacon has authority to preach; to con

duct Divine Worship; to solemnize Matrimony; to administer Baptism; and to assist the Elder in administering the Lord's Supper.

¶ 165. Preachers of the following classes are eligible to the Office of Deacon:

§ 1. Those who, having been Local Preachers for four consecutive years, shall present a recommendation for Deacons' Orders from the District Conference (or from the Quarterly Conference where no District Conference exists), duly attested by the President and Secretary thereof; and shall have completed, satisfactorily to the Annual Conference, the studies prescribed for Local Preachers who are candidates for Deacons' Orders.

NOTE.-Preachers on Trial in an Annual Conference are for purposes of ordination, as for amenability, considered as Local Preachers.

§ 2. Those who, having been Local Preachers for two full years, and also at and during the same time regular students in one of our theological seminaries, shall thereafter have been received on Trial, but previously to such Reception on Trial shall have completed, satisfactorily to the Annual Conference, the first two years of the Conference Course of Study.

§ 3. Those who have been on Trial in an Annual Conference for two years, and shall have completed satisfactorily to the Annual Conference the first two years of the Conference Course of Study.

§ 4. Those Preachers on Trial who shall be appointed by a Bishop to a foreign mission, or to a remote field in any Conference, or to a Church in a foreign country outside of a Mission or Conference, or to a Chaplaincy in the Army or Navy, in a Prison, or in a Reformatory, Sanitary or Charitable Institution; provided, that the Bishop and a majority of the Presiding Elders recommend such election.

CHAPTER IV.

ELDERS.

¶ 166. An Elder is constituted by the election of the Annual Conference, and by the laying on of the hands of a Bishop and of some of the Elders who are present.

¶ 167. An Elder has authority to preach; to conduct Divine Worship; to solemnize Matrimony; and to administer the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

¶ 168. Preachers of the following classes are eligible to the Office of Elder:

§ 1. Those who, having been for four consecutive years Local Deacons, shall present a recommendation for Elders' Orders from the District Conference (or from the Quarterly Conference where no District Conference exists), duly attested by the President and Secretary thereof; and shall have completed satisfactorily to the Annual Conference the Studies prescribed for Local Deacons who are candidates for Elders' Orders.

NOTE 1. Preachers on Trial in an Annual Conference are for purposes of ordination, as for amenability, considered as Local Preachers. NOTE 2. But the Election of such Preachers to Elders' Orders properly precedes their Admission to Full Membership.

§ 2. Those who have been in Full Membership in the Annual Conference, and also Deacons, for two successive years, and shall have completed, satisfactorily to the Conference, the Conference Course of Study.

§ 3. Those who, having been received on Trial, and elected to the office of Deacon under the provisions of