¶ 17. Article I.—The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, or change our Articles of Religion or establish any new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established standards of doctrine.40
¶ 18. Article II.—The General Conference shall not revoke, alter, or change our Confession of Faith.
¶ 19. Article III.—The General Conference shall not change or alter any part or rule of our government so as to do away with episcopacy or destroy the plan of our itinerant general superintendency.
¶ 20. Article IV.—The General Conference shall not do away with the privileges of our clergy of right to trial by a committee and of an appeal; neither shall it do away with the privileges of our members of right to trial before the church, or by a committee, and of an appeal.41
¶ 21. Article V.—The General Conference shall not revoke or change the General Rules of Our United Societies.42
¶ 22. Article VI.—The General Conference shall not appropriate the net income of the publishing houses, the book concerns, or the Chartered Fund to any purpose other than for the benefit of retired or disabled preachers, their spouses, widows, or widowers, and children or other beneficiaries of the ministerial pension systems.43
40. See Judicial Council Decisions 86, 142, 243, 358, 847, 871.
41. See Judicial Council Decisions 351, 522, 557, 595, 982.
42. See Judicial Council Decisions 358, 468, 847, 871.
43. See Judicial Council Decisions 322, 330.
From The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2016 Copyright 2016 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
