How the Church is governed
/Paul A. Welsby introduces the system of Church governance. Featured in The Friends of Rochester Cathedral Annual Report for 1974.
The Church of England in this country is divided into two provinces (Canterbury and York); each province is divided into a number of dioceses; each diocese is subdivided into rural deaneries; each rural deanery, is composed of a number of parishes. The governing bodies of the Church are linked with this territorial structure. At the top of the pyramid there is the General Synod, representative of the two provinces; at the diocesan level there is the Diocesan Synod; at deanery level the Deanery Synod; and in the parish the Parochial Church Council.
The General Synod discharges four types of busi-ness. It is a legislative body, entrusted with this work by Parliament, and passes measures affecting the life and work of the Church which, when they have passed through all their stages, have the effect of Acts of Parliament. Secondly, it is the principal forum for discussing and settling central church business. Thirdly, it is responsible for financing the central administration of the Church. Fourthly, it is a forum for the expression of Christian insights on major public issues.
The Diocesan Synod discusses and makes decisions concerning matters within the diocese, including financial issues; it deals with matters specifically referred to it by the General Synod; and, like the latter, can be a forum for discussing major public issues. The Deanery Synod does for the deanery very much the same as the Diocesan Synod does for the diocese. Its task, as it is officially defined, is "generally to promote in the deanery the whole mission of the Church, pastoral, evangelistic, social and ecumenical". It also has the right to raise with the Diocesan Synod any issue which it considers appropriate. Finally, there is the Parochial Church Council, which is the chief administrative body in the parish and which also has the duty "to co-operate with the incumbent in the initiation, conduct and development of church work both within the parish and outside".
The method of election to these bodies is as follows.
The basis is the electoral roll which is required to be kept in every parish and which is the list of lay members of the Church in that parish who qualify to be electors. At the Annual Church Meeting there are elected the members of the Parochial Church Council and the lay members of the Deanery Synod. The latter consists of two houses--the house of clergy (all the clergy in the deanery) and the house of laity (those elected by the parishes at the Annual Meeting). Next, the houses of clergy and laity of the deanery elect to the Diocesan Synod, which consists of three houses-the bishop, the clergy and the laity. In the General Synod each diocese is represented by its diocesan bishop, one of the archdeacons and by an approved number of clergy (called proctors) and lay representatives. The clergy are elected by the clergy of the dioceses and the lay representatives by the laity of the deanery synods.
The final result is a General Synod consisting of the House of Bishops (43), the House of Clergy (about ego), and the House of Laity (about 250).
Under this system of synodical government the laity have an important part in discussing and making decisions on all matters concerning the life of the Church, including matters (e.g., worship and doctrine) which were previously matters for the clergy alone.
There is considerable communication between the various levels of government. Matters affecting the doctrine and worship of the Church have by law to be referred by the General Synod to the diocesan synods for approval. Other matters are voluntarily committed to the dioceses for discussion and decision. It is for the dioceses to decide whether these matters should be remitted formally to the deanery synods. There is opportunity for the diocese to consult the deanery synods about its own affairs and the deanery can raise issues at the diocesan synod. Thus there is considerable opportunity for consultation between all levels of government.
The basis of the Church's government is the theological one that the Church, the Body of Christ, is an organic body consisting of bishops, clergy and laity.
This principle has been expressed as follows: "That theology justifies and history demonstrates that the ultimate authority and right of collective action lie with the whole body, the Church, and that the cooperation of clergy and laity in church government and discipline belongs to the true ideal of the Church." It is important perhaps to note that this system of government is not "democracy", it is "synodical" government. This means that both bishops and clergy each have their own authority by virtue of their ordination, and within synodical government certain rights are reserved to them alone. The basic conception of synodical government is that bishops, clergy and laity should consult together and make decisions over a vast range of topics concerning the life of the Church.
One of the results has been, however, that a diocesan bishop or a parish priest will no longer take decisions which are rightly his, and his alone, without first consulting his Diocesan Svnod or his Parochial Church Council. Some people may regret this, but if "the ultimate authority and right of collective action lies with the whole body, the Church", the sharing of decisions between bishop and his synod, between incumbent and the parochial church council, is enabling the Church to be the Church.
Paul A. Welsby
The Friends of Rochester Cathedral were founded to help finance the maintenance of the fabric and grounds. The Friends’ annual reports have become a trove of articles on the fabric and history of the cathedral.
Canons, colleagues, volunteers and staff have shared their memories and reflections in many forms over the years.
