General Assembly

Definition and Meaning

The general assembly (chonghoe, 總會) is the highest decision-making body of a denomination. In it, representatives of all the churches belonging to the denomination gather to decide its important matters. The general assembly amends the church constitution and rules, elects denominational officers, and oversees seminaries and mission work. Resolutions determining whether a teaching is heretical and the final level of appeal in church judicial proceedings also fall to the general assembly. The person who represents the general assembly is usually called the moderator (chonghoejang), and the representatives sent to the assembly are called commissioners (chongdae, 總代) or delegates.

Biblical and Historical Background

Presbyterians cite the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 as the biblical basis for a conciliar system in which multiple churches gather to make decisions together. At this council the apostles and elders deliberated together and decided whether Gentile believers needed to be circumcised. After the Reformation, Presbyterianism developed a system of governing bodies extending from the session to the presbytery and the general assembly.

In Korea, the Independent Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church was organized in 1907. The history of the Presbyterian general assembly began in 1912 with the organization of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Chosen (Korea). Because Korean Presbyterianism divided several times after liberation in 1945, there are today multiple distinct general assemblies even among Presbyterian churches bearing the same name.

Practice in the Korean Church

• Presbyterian: Most Presbyterian denominations, including the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) and the General Assembly of Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong), hold their regular general assembly every September. For this reason, September is commonly called "general assembly season." In principle, each presbytery sends equal numbers of ministers and elders as commissioners. The moderator generally serves a one-year term.
• Methodist: In the Korean Methodist Church, the regional annual conference is the basic body that meets each year. The general conference is composed of representatives from the annual conferences and handles matters such as electing the presiding bishop and amending the Doctrines and Discipline (the church constitution). Unlike Presbyterian polity, its church government is centered on bishops.
• Holiness: The Korea Evangelical Holiness Church has the district conference as its basic unit, with the general assembly above it. Its regular general assembly is reportedly held around May rather than in September.
• Baptist: Baptist bodies such as the Korea Baptist Convention emphasize the autonomy of the local church. Consequently, a Baptist general assembly is understood to function largely as a cooperative association of churches, with less binding authority over local congregations than a Presbyterian general assembly.

Apart from denominational general assemblies, interdenominational bodies such as the Christian Council of Korea also use the term "general assembly" for meetings of representatives from their member denominations. Such meetings, however, do not directly govern the member denominations.