Why an alternative ACNA constitution?

By Robin G. Jordan

Among the reasons that I compiled a draft alternative constitution for the Anglican Church in North America is how authority and power is concentrated in its provisional constitution. The model used for the provisional constitution of the ACNA is that of the articles of incorporation for a business and not that of a church body. The Provincial Assembly is the annual stockholders meeting which in a business corporation approves the reports of the board of directors, elects the members of the board of directors, and adopts any proposed amendments to the articles of incorporation and bylaws of the corporation. The Provincial Council is the board of directors that actually runs the corporation and the Archbishop was the chairman of the board.

When compared with the General Convention, General Synod, General Assembly, General Conference, General Council and similar governing bodies of a number of church bodies, the so-called Provincial Assembly has very few powers. Indeed its sole purpose appears to be to elect the members of the so-called Provincial Council and to rubberstamp its enactments.

The powers that the constitutions of a large number of church bodies vest in a General Convention, General Synod, General Assembly, General Conference, General Council, or similar governing body are vested in the Provincial Council. After the experiences of the past forty years, I am surprised that the Common Cause Partnership adopted a provisional constitution for the new province that concentrated so much power in the Provincial Council, a non-representative body with very little if any accountability. Rather than being a smaller executive body that exercises powers and functions of a larger governing body on its behalf when not in session and is subordinate and accountable to that larger governing body, the Provincial Council combines the roles of governing body and executive body. Since the powers and functions it exercises are vested in it by the constitution and not delegated to it by the Provincial Assembly, if the Provincial Council abuses its powers or fails to perform its functions, the Provincial Assembly cannot take away its powers or hold it accountable for malfeasance. The Provincial Assembly cannot on its own initiative alter the constitution or make canons. It cannot even pass a resolution of censure!

A church body does not need to concentrate the government of the church body under the control of one small non-representative body accountable only to itself to make disciples of all the nations. It needs churches and church members that are wholeheartedly committed to carrying out the Great Commission. It does not need this kind of centralization “to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine contrary to God’s Word.” What it needs is a clear statement of faith and values upon which all of its churches are agreed, a clear disciplinary procedure, and most important of all, the will to use it.

The draft alternative constitution for the Anglican Church in North America does away with the Provincial Assembly and the Provincial Council and replaces them with a Governing Body composed of a House of Bishops, a House of Clergy, and a House of Laity and vests in the Governing Body the power to alter the constitution and to make canons and rules, subject to the terms of the constitution. The House of Bishops consists of all the bishops of the new province. The House of Clergy consists of elected clerical representatives from each of the judicatories that form the new province. The House of Laity consists of elected lay representatives from each of these judicatories. The three houses would normally meet together but may meet separately under certain circumstances.

As well as having the power to alter the constitution and to make canons and rules, the Governing Body has the power to delegate to its Standing Committee whatever powers and functions that it deems fit. The Standing Committee is clearly subordinate and accountable to the Governing Body. As a safeguard certain categories of the Governing Body’s enactments must be ratified or assented to by the convocations, or judicatories, affected by these enactments. This includes both alterations to the constitution and canons. Authority and power is not concentrated in one small non-representative body but is divided between three bodies, all of which would, under the terms of the draft alternative constitution, be representative—the Governing Body, its Standing Committee, and the convocational conference.

Under the terms of the draft alternative constitution it would not be possible for the Governing Body to impose women priests upon all the judicatories of the new province as General Convention did upon the dioceses of The Episcopal Church. Judicatories that accept women’s ordination would, however, still be able to ordain women and license women deacons and priests.

Over the next few weeks I am going to examine a number of features of the draft alternative constitution for the ACNA. I plan to explain the rationale behind each feature. If you have not read the draft alternative constitution, it can be found on the Internet at: http://anglicansablaze.blogspot.com/2009/01/draft-alternative-acna-constitution.html

I am hoping that the draft alternative constitution will get North American Anglicans to think and talk about what needs to go into the constitution of the ACNA and to hold the feet of the officials of their respective judicatories to the fire over what is incorporated into that constitution. A number of issues divide liberals and Biblically faithful Anglicans. One of these issues is the concentration and use of authority and power. Few of us want to endure what we have endured in the last few years only to find ourselves in a new province in which authority and power is concentrated and used in exactly the same way as it is in The Episcopal Church.