Congregationalism by Rt. Rev. C. H. Shawe D.D.

Our government is through the synod, composed of ministers and deputies from each congregation. The synod has final authority over every phase of our corporate thought or branch of corporate work, every congregation or Board of Administration or portion of property. The synod may be regarded as a representative body suitable to the democratic character of a church which calls itself ‘unitas fratrum’.
But really, it seeks to stand for something higher still, and comes down from early days before the word ‘democratic’ enjoyed the high reputation it has today. There were days when our forefathers were greatly exercised in their minds over the question of government. The were anxiously asking themselves who should be appointed to the position of ‘Chief Elder’, to use the title then employed. Who was to be the chief authority in the church? And it flashed on their minds that no human being was fitted or could be called to that position. For that position was already filled by Christ himself – Christ was the chief elder of the church. Let every gathering and every administrative or governing function be placed under Christ’s direction. And the Synod was meant to be the body of Christians meeting to receive the direction of the true head of the Church. To use a theological term, the Synod was to be the organ of a Christocracy.
Rt. Rev. C. H. Shawe D.D. The Moravian Church and what it stands for page 15