Official Handbook Source Text
Handbook page 96
Source: LCMS Handbook 2023, page 96.
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.
ecclesiastical supervisor, select a location and a date within 45 days after the Hearing Panel was constituted for the panel to hear and consider the matter, unless there is unanimous consent by the panel members for a short delay beyond such 45 days for reasons the panel deems appropriate.
2.17.7.7 The Secretary of the Synod shall forward to the Hearing Panel the
statement of the matter together with the written memorandum describing the manner in which there was compliance with the provisions of Bylaws 2.17.3– 2.17.7.
2.17.7.8 The Hearing Panel and all parties to the matter shall follow the guidelines
as set forth in Bylaw 2.14.7.8 (a)–(k ).
2.17.7.9 Upon completion of the hearing, the Hearing Panel shall deliberate and
then issue its written decision within 30 days.
(a) Copies of the decision shall be mailed to the accused, the suspending ecclesiastical supervisor , the accuser and his/her district president, the Secretary of the Synod, and the President of the Synod.
(b) The decision of the Hearing Panel shall be subject to appeal by the accused, the suspending ecclesiastical supervisor , or the President of the Synod (as provided in Bylaw 2.17.8).
(c) The President of the Synod may request an opinion from the Commission on Constitutional Matters (CCM) or the Commission on Theology and church Relations (CTCR).
(1) Any opinion so requested shall be rendered within 30 days or such greater time as the panel may allow.
(2) When an opinion has been requested, time limitations will not apply until the parties to the matter have received the opinion.
(3) CCM and CTCR opinions must be followed if the matter is appealed.
(d) If not appealed, the decision of the Hearing Panel shall be regarded as final and shall
(1) be binding upon the parties to the matter and not be subject to further appeal;
(2) have no precedential value;
(3) be carried out by the district president or the President of the Synod; and
(4) be publicized as deemed appropriate under the circumstances by the district president or the President of the Synod.
Appeal Panel
2.17.8 The decision of the Hearing Panel may be appealed by the accused (if an
active participant in the hearing before the Hearing Panel) , by the suspending ecclesiastical supervisor, or by the President of the Synod if a question of doctrine or practice is involved (Constitution Art. XI B 1 – 3) within 15 days after receiving the decision. Such request for an appeal shall be submitted to the Secretary of the Synod with copies provided to the district president(s) of the accuser and the accused, the chairman of the Hearing Panel, the accuser, and the President of the Synod, and shall be accompanied by a written memorandum stating the basis for the request.
