LCMS Commission on Constitutional Matters — Minutes St. Louis, Missouri — February 21-22, 1975, Page 11

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The Commission on Constitutional Matters replies as follows:
I
A District President may be removed from office (A) as a result of being expelled from
membership in the Synod, or (B) as a result of direct action of removal from office without expulsion
from membership in the Synod.
A. Removal from Office
as a Result of Expulsion from Membership in the Synod
Article XIII, 1 of the Constitution of the Synod says: "Members who act contrary to the
confession laid down in Article II and to the conditions of membership laid down in Article VI or persist
in an offensive conduct, shall, after previous futile admonition, be expelled from the Synod." The point at
issue in this connection is "offensive conduct." Can failure to carry out the Bylaws of the Synod be
termed "offensive conduct" in the sense of Article XIII? The CCM notes- the following:
1. It is the duty of the President of the Synod to see to it that all officers of the Synod, all such as
are employed by the Synod, the individual Districts of the Synod., and all District Presidents of the Synod
act in accordance with the Synod's Constitution (Constitution Article XI, B, 1 & 2).
2. The Constitution of the Synod provides for the adoption of bylaws. All duly and regularly
adopted bylaws which remain in force and effect are an extension of the Constitution. The President of
the Synod has a duty to see to it that:
a. all officers of the Synod,
b. all such as are employed by the Synod,
c. the individual District of the Synod, and
d. all District Presidents
act in accordance with the Bylaws of the Synod.
3. "All officers of the Districts have the same rights and duties as those outlined in this
Constitution for the officers of the Synod but only insofar as these apply to the District and only within
the boundaries of their Districts." (Art. XII, 6)
4. Therefore.a District President also has the duty to see to it that:
a. all officers of. the District,
b. all such as are employed by the District, and
c. the individual District for which the District President has been elected to be its
president
act in accordance with the Bylaws of the Synod.
5. Article XIII of the Synod's Constitution provides that the members of the Synod (which includes
District Presidents) "who . . . persist. in an offensive conduct shall, after previous futile admonition, be
expelled from the Synod.."
6. The first object of the Synod is the conservation and promotion of the unity of the true faith and
A united defense against schism and sectarianism (Constitution Article III, 1; emphasis supplied).