(In answer to the request of the Assembly in 1967 (Blue Book, p 89) that the Committee on Doctrine should ‘state what the phrases “Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith” and “The Substance of the Faith” mean, in order that the vows taken in Ordination and Induction of Ministers and Professors might have a meaning commonly understood,’ the Committee offered the following which was adopted by the Assembly in 1969.)
1) The expression ‘fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith,’ as used in the Book of Order, refers to those affirmations of faith essential to the Church’s doctrine and life, without which it does not fulfil its calling to be the community of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
2) The other expression, ‘the substance of the faith,’ is widely used, but is not found in precisely that form in the Book of Order. The closest approximation to it is: ‘The substance of the Reformed faith’. A third expression used is: ‘The fundamental doctrines of the Reformed faith’. In the opinion of the Committee, in the use of these three phrases in the Book of Order no difference of meaning is intended.
3) These phrases have come to us out of the striving of the Church in the past to preserve the fullness and integrity of the Christian faith, and to proclaim it effectively. By continuing to use them, we acknowledge that we have the same responsibilities.
4) The phrases used in the Book of Order and their locations are as follows:
a) ‘Fundamental Doctrines of the Christian Faith’:
i) Questions at ordination or induction of minister, professor or elder.
ii) The formula signed by the above.
b) ‘The Substance of the Reformed Faith’.
i) Preamble to services of ordination and induction.
ii) The Declaratory Act.
c) ‘Fundamental Doctrines of the Reformed Faith’:
i) Preamble to services of ordination and induction.
ii) Section A, Regulation 1 (e).
NOTE: In Clause 4 above the word ‘deaconess’ and page references to the 1960 edition of the Book of Order have been omitted.