Official Handbook Source Text
Handbook page 93
Source: LCMS Handbook 2023, page 93.
This page reproduces text from the 2023 LCMS Handbook for study and navigation. Readers should verify procedural, legal, parliamentary, or governance questions against the official LCMS Handbook and appropriate LCMS authorities.
president, the President of the Synod, or the chairman of the Council of Presidents may become aware of such information or facts by his own personal knowledge. Such information or facts may also be conveyed to him in a formal written complaint or accusation made by any person. In commencing such action, the ecclesiastical supervisor of the accused:
(a) Shall determine whether the provisions in Bylaw 2.17.3 have been followed and shall thoroughly investigate whether the allegations of the accuser can be substantiated. He may appoint a small investigation committee (cf. Bylaw 4.4.6);
(b) Shall inform the accused of the accusation at the earliest appropriate time (cf. Matthew 18:15).
2.17.4.1 The ecclesiastical supervisor shall make his determination whether or not
to suspend the member within 120 days after receipt of a formal written complaint or accusation, unless:
(a) in the event that the accused is a district president or officer of the Synod, the President of the Synod extends his investigation with concurrence of the majority of the uninvolved vice -presidents of the Synod;
(b) in the event that the accused is the President of the Synod, the chairman of the Council of Presidents extends his investigation with concurrence of the majority of the uninvolved district presidents of the Synod.
(c) otherwise, the district president requests, substantiates, and is granted an extension by the President of the Synod.
2.17.4.2 Before informing others of a determination not to suspend, if the matter
involves doctrine or practice and a formal written accusation, a district president may seek the counsel and concurrence of the President of the Synod by conveying to him the accuser’s formal written accusation, the record of his investigation, and his preliminary determination. The President of the Synod shall respond within 60 days.
(a) Should the President of the Synod concur, the district president may include the concurrence in his determination, indicating that it precludes an appeal for action by the accuser to the President of the Synod.
(b) Should the President of the Synod not concur, he shall consult with the district president, who may revise his determination. He may request additional time to extend his investigation, which the President of the Synod may grant.
2.17.4.3 In the event the district president has a conflict of interest or is unable to
act, the next qualified officer of the district shall function in his place. The President of the Synod, who is the ecclesiastical supervisor of the district president, shall determine any challenge to the eligibility of the district president to act that is not agreed to by the district president.
(a) In the event that the accused is a district president or officer of the Synod, the President of the Synod shall function in such instance;
(b) In the event that the accused is the President of the Synod, the chairman of the Council of Presidents shall function in such instance,
