The Synod of the Northeast Permanent Judicial Commission (PJC) has overturned a ruling that acquitted Boston-area pastor the Rev. Jean Southard of disciplinary charges brought on by a same-sex marriage she performed in 2008.

Southhard will appeal the ruling to the General Assembly PJ C, she said during a More Light Presbyterians luncheon in Minneapolis.

The Presbytery of Boston, in an August 2009 decision, had dismissed three of the charges and found Southard not guilty on two others. The charges allege that Southard violated the Presbyterian Church (USA) constitution and her ordination vows by performing the wedding.

As is the case in a handful of states, including Massachusetts, same-sex marriage is legal but the PCUSA constitution and confessional standards forbid it.

“They reversed the presbytery’s ruling by saying, in essence, the definition of marriage found in the Book of Order is the polity of the PCUSA even though it no longer reflects the reality in some states,” she said.

In its order, the synod PJC remanded the case back to the Boston Presbytery PJC to determine the degree of censure for Southard. The synod PJC ruled that in several instances, the presbytery PJC erred in its interpretation of the PCUSA constitution.

The synod PJC’s rationale included:

“While this no longer reflects the reality of civil marriage in some states, and Christian marriage in some denominations, it remains the polity of the PCUSA.”