APPROBATION to preach. — When candidates
for the pastoral office go out to preach the gospel, it
is desirable that they have letters of commendation
from some who are known to the churches. For-
merly, the churches thus recommended those who
went out from them. 1 About the year 1705, " Pro-
posals " were made by certain ministers to have the



APPROBATION. 25

. churches give their power to do this into the hands
of ministerial associations.* This custom has now,
by innovation, generally prevailed among the New
England Congregationalism ; some associations giv-
ing a mere recommendation, and others a formal
license to preach the gospel. It is, however, an
encroachment on ancient usages and principles,
which maintained that it was not a matter of ne-
cessity; and that to hold it necessary was "to
deny Christians their liberty, and assume the in-
fallible chair." 3 Stoddard (who differed from most
New England ministers) says in his Instituted
Churches: 1 "It belongs to synods to appoint per-
sons to examine candidates for the ministry, yet (!)
not to abridge the churches of their liberty." (! !) In
the petition of the church and town of Woburn to
the General Court, Aug. 30, 1653,* they say: "If a
church has liberty of election and ordination, then
it has the power of approbation also." The result
was a repeal of an order which had passed the Gene-
ral Court, that ministers should be approbated by a
council, or by the county court. 6 Punchard says 7
that the first suggestion on this subject, so far as he
had discovered, came from the united brethren, Con-
gregational and Presbyterian, in England, in 1692 ;
but the above petition shows an earlier date by a
Massachusetts law, which was subsequently repealed.
