No Clergy Congregations and Pacifism in Canada

Second, and of equal importance, the later anti-conscription stance of some in the Church of Christ tradition led to an important qualification as to what a church and a minister are in Canada. On 30 August 1943, Justice Maclean of the Court of King’s Bench of Saskatchewan decided in favour of Clarence Allen Bien by granting exemption from military service. It was determined that the Church of Christ was a “religious denomination within the meaning of the National War Services Regulations entitling a minister there of to exemption from compulsory military service under the Regulations.”

The Court recognized that the group conducted a formal order of worship on Sundays where members “sing hymns, read portions of Scripture [and] engage in prayer.” The minister was recognized as such even though Church of Christ ministers were generally unsalaried, did not undergo any prescribed procedure for ordination and were often without formal training. Bien made his living through farming. However, he had apprenticed for three years (the case suggests that most did) as a preacher, had been recommended as a preacher by his church (or two ministers) and had acquired the right to marry church adherents under the laws of Saskatchewan. The Court found that there was no bishop or moderator; however, there was a general secretary that coordinated marriage approvals.The Court decided that Bien was in fact a “minister” or evangelist with the Churches of Christ and was exempt from compulsory service. This decision has been particularly important as it has been referred to in order to determine whether a group constitutes a church and is eligible for military service exemption (such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses) during the war or more recently for exemption from taxation. The ruling is especially useful in church contexts with littledistinction between clerical and lay roles."

~ Must We have War Again? A Preliminary Explorationof Pacifism in the Restoration Movement in Canada Through the Pages of the Gospel Herald (1936-1940)
RUSSEL PRIME