Ordained Minister Questions

[BigEd358]

There is NO mention of needing to have a physical congregation

I was searching this new forum and came across this thread and I wanted to set the record straight. Per the NYS Religious Corporations Act, Article 2 defines the term "clergyman" and "Minister" as:
" The term "clergyman" and the term "minister" include a duly authorized
pastor, rector, priest, rabbi, and a person having authority from, or in
accordance with, the rules and regulations of the governing
ecclesiastical body of the denomination or order, if any, to which the
church belongs, or otherwise from the church or synagogue to preside
over and direct the spiritual affairs of the church or synagogue."

As you can see, there is NO mention of needing to have a physical congregation to be considered a minister. There is NO law that specifically mentions ministers who are ordained online. The law is very specific. Therefore, per the letter of the law, online ordained ministers can legally marry people and sign a marriage license. Also, be careful when reading case law.

Have a great evening!

Ed

Ugh. I just did some further research, and made a few phone calls and apparently in NYS, under the Religious Corporations act, article 2, you need to be a minister of a physical congregation to qualify as such. Therefore, online ordinations are not valid in NYS at this time. There was also a Supreme Court case that upheld this.

Thank you though!

 

[Zigner]

I was searching this new forum and came across this thread and I wanted to set the record straight. Per the NYS Religious Corporations Act, Article 2 defines the term "clergyman" and "Minister" as:
" The term "clergyman" and the term "minister" include a duly authorized
pastor, rector, priest, rabbi, and a person having authority from, or in
accordance with, the rules and regulations of the governing
ecclesiastical body of the denomination or order, if any, to which the
church belongs, or otherwise from the church or synagogue to preside
over and direct the spiritual affairs of the church or synagogue."

As you can see, there is NO mention of needing to have a physical congregation to be considered a minister. There is NO law that specifically mentions ministers who are ordained online. The law is very specific. Therefore, per the letter of the law, online ordained ministers can legally marry people and sign a marriage license. Also, be careful when reading case law.

Have a great evening!

Ed

This post is 6 months old. Necroposting is rude.