From the Author's Preface (March 2007):

“During my years of service as the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America, one of my daily tasks was to answer questions regarding the Book of Church Order. Since leaving that office, I have had the privilege of teaching at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary, including courses on Presbyterian polity. This volume has thus grown out of an ongoing working with the Book of Church Order.”

“This edition of the Commentary includes updates on the changes made by the General Assembly to the Book of Church Order, with appropriate comments. In order to give the Commentary greater authority and usefulness, selected actions of the General Assembly regarding the Book of Church Order have been incorporated. The major changes in this edition are found in the new Rules for Assembly Operation, which were radically amended by the Thirty-fourth General Assembly in 2006. This is found in Appendix A. Since these rules are not part of the BCO, no commentary is made regarding them.”

Author

Dr. Morton H. Smith (1923-2017); ThD, Free University of Amsterdam) was founding professor of Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS), founder of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary(GPTS), and the first Stated Clerk of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA).