Ecclesiastical Code of Conduct

General principles

• Sacred trust: IOSHA ministers hold a position of sacred trust and commit to honoring the vulnerability of those seeking healing with integrity and care.
• Service over self: healing is practiced as service to Spirit and humanity, not for personal gain, power, or ego.
• Do no harm: ministers commit to the principle of first, do no harm, in all healing work, teaching, and interactions.
• Honesty and transparency: ministers communicate honestly about their qualifications, the nature of their services, and the limits of their practice.

Scope of practice

Ministers practice only within the scope of their training and ordination, and clearly identify their services as spiritual and religious in nature, referring members elsewhere when a need exceeds their competence. Ministers do not diagnose medical conditions, prescribe medications or treatments, advise anyone to discontinue prescribed medical care, use titles implying medical licensure they do not hold, or claim to cure specific diseases or conditions.

Informed consent and documentation

Ministers obtain written informed consent before providing healing services, explain the spiritual nature of the service in plain terms, disclose foreseeable reactions such as an emotional release, and respect a member's right to decline or stop at any time. Records of services are kept accurately, stored securely, retained for at least seven years, and produced only in response to proper legal process, subject to applicable privilege.

Confidentiality

Communications between a minister and a member during spiritual counseling, confession, or healing sessions are held in sacred confidence under the clergy-penitent privilege. Ministers do not disclose these communications except with the member's written consent, when there is an imminent risk of serious harm, when mandatory reporting law requires it, or under court order after privilege claims are exhausted. Where disclosure is required, ministers disclose only the minimum necessary.

Boundaries

• Ministers obtain consent before any physical contact, explain its purpose, and allow members to decline touch without consequence; sexual contact with a current member is never permitted, and a two-year cooling-off period applies after a ministerial relationship with a former member ends.
• Ministers maintain appropriate emotional boundaries, avoid dual relationships that impair objectivity, and refer members elsewhere when personal feelings interfere with service.
• Ministers are transparent about offerings and financial arrangements, never pressure members for financial contributions, and do not borrow from or lend to members.

Prohibited conduct

The following may result in immediate revocation of credentials: physical, sexual, emotional, or spiritual abuse; financial exploitation of a member; misrepresenting credentials, services, or healing outcomes; a felony conviction involving moral turpitude, violence, fraud, or exploitation; or providing services while impaired by drugs or alcohol.

Marketing and honest representation

Ministers represent their qualifications and services accurately and clearly identify their offerings as spiritual and religious in nature. Ministers do not practice medicine, do not promise guaranteed results, do not use testimonials implying a cure for a specific disease, and do not use deceptive advertising.

Compliance and discipline

Ministers are responsible for understanding this Code, completing required ethics training, and reporting known or suspected violations to the Presiding Minister or the Ecclesiastical Court; good-faith reports are protected from retaliation. Complaints are investigated and, where substantiated, referred to the Ecclesiastical Court for hearing under the Bylaws. Sanctions may range from a written warning or mandatory training up to suspension, revocation of credentials, or expulsion, with a right of appeal to the Council of Elders. Restoration after suspension is never guaranteed.

Acknowledgment

All ordained ministers, commissioned healers, and credentialed practitioners sign this Code as a condition of receiving and maintaining IOSHA credentials.

For more on what IOSHA is and is not, and what we do and do not promise, see our full Disclaimer.