1.1  The moderator has all the authority necessary to maintain order and for directing the business of the judicatory according to the rules and regulations of the church.
     1.2  The minister in charge is the moderator of the session. The moderators of the other judicatories shall be elected for a set term and hold office until a successor is elected.
     1.3  The moderator should be well-versed in parliamentary law and be familiar with the standing rules of the judicatory. At the same time, the moderator should bear in mind that rules are not a substitute for common sense.
     1.4  It is the duty of the moderator:

a.		to announce in proper sequence the business that comes before the judicatory in accordance with the agenda or program and the existing orders of the day;
b.		to recognize members who are entitled to the floor;
c.		to state and to put all questions that legitimately come before the judicatory as motions or that otherwise arise in the course of proceedings (except those that relate to the moderator), and to announce the result of each vote; or, if a motion that is not in order is made, to rule it out of order;
d.		to protect the judicatory from frivolous or dilatory motions by refusing to recognize them;
e.		to require that the rules relating to debate and to order and decorum within the judicatory be observed;
f.		to expedite business in every way compatible with the rights of the members;
g.		to decide all questions of order, subject to appeal--unless, when in doubt, such a question is submitted to the judicatory for decision;
h.		to respond to inquiries of members relating to parliamentary procedure or factual information bearing upon the business of the judicatory;
i.		to authenticate by signature, when necessary, all acts, orders, and proceedings of the judicatory;
j.		to declare the meeting adjourned when the judicatory so votes or--when applicable--at the time prescribed on the program, or at any time in the event of a sudden emergency affecting the safety of those present:
k.		to appoint all committees unless otherwise determined by the judicatory, and
l.		to call the vice-moderator (or some other member) to the chair to preside temporarily; or before engaging in debate (except upon questions of order).

     1.5  At each meeting, in addition to the necessary papers proper to that meeting's business, the moderator should have at hand:

a.		a copy of the standing rules of the judicatory;
b.		a copy of the Rules of Order of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church/Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America;
c.		a copy of the current edition of Robert's Rules of Order, and
d.		a memorandum of the complete order of business.

     1.6  A judicatory may name the moderator an ex-officio member of all its boards and agencies (with voting rights); otherwise, the moderator is an advisory (non-voting) member of such boards and agencies.
     1.7  If the moderator of a session is absent, or if the session is without a moderator, the clerk, or in his/her absence a member of the session, shall preside until a moderator pro tem is elected. In a congregation without a pastor, the moderator pro tem may be a member of the session or any ordained minister of the presbytery.
     1.8  In judicatories above the session, if, during the term of office, the moderator is absent, the vice-moderator shall preside. If the vice-moderator is also absent (or if the judicatory does not have such an office), the stated clerk shall preside until a moderator pro tem is elected. In the absence of all of these officers, the members shall select a member of the judicatory to preside until a moderator pro tem is selected. If the absence occurs at the end of the moderator's term of office, the same procedure applies, but the member elected by the judicatory shall become the moderator, rather than the moderator pro tem.
     1.9  When an issue is being considered by a judicatory that refers to the moderator in a capacity not shared in common with other members, or that commends or censures the moderator, the chair should be occupied by the vice-moderator or an appropriate temporary occupant.