The following paper related to the provisional constitution of the Anglican Church in North America and the three proposed amendments to the provisional constitution and the proposed constitution in its appendix were submitted to Hugo Blankingship, the chairman of the ACNA Governance Task Force, and Bishop Robert Duncan, Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership and acting Primate of the ACNA, in response to Bishop Duncan's letter of April 3, 2009. This writer is also preparing a similar paper related to the proposed code of canons for the ACNA. It must be noted that the 17 days that the ACNA has provided for public comment on these documents is totally insufficient for interested parties to study the documents, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to weigh the implications of their contents. A minimum of 90 days is required, preferably 6 to 12 months.
In building a house, it is wise to go over the plans of the house with the architect rather than entrusting everything to him. There may design flaws and hidden costs that a careful perusal of the plans may reveal. Those who do not take the time to look at the details end up spending more on the house than they anticipated and may discover that the house is not quite what they had in mind. However, once the house is built, they are stuck with it. As the old proverbial saying goes, having made their bed, they must lie in it. Suing the architect takes time and money and renovations take more time and more money. And their dream house still may not be what they had hoped it would be. It is better to make sure that things are done right from the outset.
In this paper I examine the first sheet of the blueprint of the Anglican Church in North America—the final draft of the provisional constitution and the three proposed amendments thereto that are to be presented at the Inaugural Provincial Assembly—and propose a number of changes to that document and its proposed amendments. One of these changes would make the Anglican Church in North America more comprehensive from an Evangelical and Reformed standpoint without making it less comprehensive from an Anglo-Catholic and charismatic standpoint. A number of the changes would preserve the North American Anglican heritage of the autonomy of the diocese, the long tradition of a diocese electing its bishop, and a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance. Several of them address issues that the Governance Task Force in drafting the provisional constitution and its proposed amendments did not address.
It must be noted that the three proposed amendments to the provisional constitution do not greatly change the provisions of that document. The document that will be presented to the Inaugural Provincial Assembly is substantially the same document as the one that was presented to the Common Cause Partnership Leadership Council in December of last year as I anticipated elsewhere. The Governance Task Force has not seen fit to make the language clearer, correct the conflicting provisions, or to make other needed changes as I also anticipated. This raises a number of questions regarding the process by which the document was drafted and amendments were proposed and the openness of members of the Governance Task Force to public comment that did not agree with their view of the provisions of the document.
My discussion of the provisional constitution and its proposed amendments and my comments on its provisions are in italics. The proposed changes are in bold and begin and conclude with quotation marks.
In the appendix to this paper I bring together all the proposed changes with those provisions from the final draft of the provisional constitution and its proposed amendments that I have left unchanged, and rearrange them into the form of a proposed constitution of the Anglican Church in North America.
THE CONSTITUTION OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH
IN NORTH AMERICA WITH THREE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS
PREAMBLE
In the Name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
We are Anglicans in North America united by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures and presently members of the Common Cause Partnership.
We know ourselves to be members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
We are grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance.
We are grateful for the encouragement of Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion who gathered at Jerusalem in June 2008 and called on us to establish a new Province in North America.
We believe that this Constitution is faithful to that call and consistent with the Historic Faith and Order of the Church and we invite the prayers of all faithful Anglicans as we seek to be obedient disciples of Jesus Christ our One Lord and Savior.
ARTICLE I – FUNDAMENTAL DECLARATIONS
OF THE PROVINCE
As the Anglican Church in North America (the Province), being a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, we believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, we identify the following eight elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership:OF THE PROVINCE
It may be premature to refer to the Anglican Church in North America as “the province.” In any event none of the constitutions of Anglican provinces that I have examined refer to themselves as “the province.” They refer to themselves as “this church” or “the church.” Wherever “province” is used in the provisional constitution, it should be changed to “this church” or “the church.” This permits the use of the phrase “ecclesiastical province” or “internal province” or the term “province” to describe jurisdictions formed by the voluntary association of two or more judicatories on the basis of geographic proximity or the same position on a number of key theological issues such as the ordination of women or both.
“As the Anglican Church in North America, hereinafter referred to as ‘this church,’ being a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, we believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, we identify the following eight elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership:”
1. We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
2. We confess Baptism and the Supper of the Lord to be Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself in the Gospel, and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of His words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.
3. We confess the godly historic Episcopate as an inherent part of the apostolic faith and practice, and therefore as integral to the fullness and unity of the Body of Christ.
The position on the episcopate stated in this section reflects the view of only one school of thought in Anglicanism and does not acknowledge the existence of any other school of thought or its historical place in Anglicanism. This section in effect excludes from participation in the Anglican Church in North America Anglicans that “recognize and adhere to episcopacy, not as of Divine right, but as very ancient and desirable form of Church polity” and “reject and condemn the following strange and erroneous doctrines: that the Church of Christ exist only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity…”. If the Anglican Church in North America is to be a truly comprehensive church that has room for those who stand in the Evangelical and Reformed tradition in Anglicanism as well for those who stand in the Anglo-Catholic and charismatic traditions in Anglicanism, the ACNA fundamental declaration on the episcopate needs to recognize all three major positions on the episcopate and not just one. Sections 6 and 7 appear to have been worded to accommodate different views relating to the place of the 1662 Book and the 1662 Ordinal and the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562 in Anglicanism. The same thing should have been done with Section 3.
“3. We aver that while all Anglicans historically have not agreed that episcopacy is of divine right and that the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity, they have agreed that episcopacy is a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity.”
“Aver” means to “state as fact.” This recognizes that English Reformers like Bishop John Jewel whose “Apology for the Church of England” served as an official statement of the faith of the Church of England until the adoption of the Thirty-Nine Articles viewed apostolic succession in terms of succession of doctrine and not what Jewel referred to as “succession of place.” While they themselves regarded episcopacy as a desirable form of Church polity, they recognized the right of the Reformed churches to order themselves as they saw fit and did not unchurch them as did the nineteenth century Tractarians because they had no bishops. It also recognizes that the view that episcopacy is a divine institution and of the essence of Christ’s Church, a view of which the Tractarians were strong proponents, is not shared by all Anglicans. In expressing this view the existing declaration on the episcopate is expressing a partisan view.
4. We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
5. Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.
6. We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.
7. We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.
8. We affirm the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and Jerusalem Declaration issued 29 June 2008.
In all these things, the Anglican Church in North America is determined by the help of God to hold and maintain, as the Anglican Way has received them, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to our posterity.
We seek to be and remain in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
ARTICLE II: THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE PROVINCE
1. The founding entities of the Anglican Church in North America are the members of the Common Cause Partnership namely:The American Anglican Council
The Anglican Coalition in Canada
The Anglican Communion Network
The Anglican Mission in the Americas
The Anglican Network in Canada
The Convocation of Anglicans in North America
Forward in Faith – North America
The Missionary Convocation of Kenya
The Missionary Convocation of the Southern Cone
The Missionary Convocation of Uganda
The Reformed Episcopal Church
2. New dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based) may be added to the Province by [invitation of] the Provincial Council, pursuant to the process outlined by canon.
The use of the term “judicatory” in place of “dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based)” would simplify the language of this section and other sections of the provisional constitution. “Judicatory” is term used by church consultant and ecclesiologist Lyle Schaller and others to describe a sub-division of a denomination such as an association, conference, diocese, or district.
“2. (1) New judicatories, by whatever names they may be designated, may be formed by groups of congregations and clergy on the basis of territory or theological affinity, and may be recognized as member judicatories of this church by the action of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedures as shall be delineated in the Canons of this church. Provided that any group of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church may appeal the decision of the Provincial Council in its case to the Provincial Assembly and the decision of the Provincial Assembly in the matter shall be final.
“(2) All groups of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church must accede to the Constitution and Canons of this church before they may be recognized as a member judicatory of this church.”
3. Member dioceses (or groups of dioceses organized into distinct jurisdictions) are free to withdraw from the Province by action of their own governing bodies at any time.
“3. No member judicatory or internal province or other voluntary association of judicatories formed under the provisions of this Constitution shall be dissolved or merged with another member judicatory, internal province, or other voluntary association except with its own assent by action of its governing body.”
“4. Member judicatories and internal provinces and other voluntary associations of judicatories formed under the provisions of this Constitution may, at any time, withdraw from this church by action of their governing bodies.”
ARTICLE III: THE MISSION OF THE PROVINCE
1. The mission of the Province is so to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that people everywhere will come to know Him as Lord and serve Him as King in the fellowship of the Church. The chief agents of this mission to extend the Kingdom of God are the people of God.2. The work of the Province is to equip each member of the Province so that they may reconcile the world to Christ, plant new congregations, and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything commanded by Jesus Christ.
3. The Province will seek to represent orthodox North American Anglicans in the councils of the Anglican Communion.
The reality is that the Anglican Church in North America will be representing only a segment of orthodox North American Anglicans, that is, those that are willing to embrace the radical innovations in ecclesiastical governance introduced in the provisional constitution and proposed code of canons of the ACNA, as well as the ACNA fundamental declaration on the episcopate.
“3. This church shall seek to represent its bishops, its clergy, and the members of its congregations in the councils of the Anglican Communion.”
ARTICLE IV: THE STRUCTURE OF THE PROVINCE
1. The fundamental agency of mission in the Province is the local congregation.“1. The fundamental agency of mission in this church is the local congregation. As the local assembly of God’s people in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments are ministered with due order and discipline as ordained by Christ, the local congregation participates in God’s mission in the world, that is, to seek and save the lost. The primary role of the judicatory is support the local congregation in its missionary outreach and to mobilize the collective resources of the congregations of the judicatory to this end.”
Almost all of the sections of this article could have been placed elsewhere in the provisional constitution—Section 1 in Article III, Section 3 in Article II or Article VI, Section 4 in Article II, Section 5 in Article IX, Section 6 in Article VIII, and Section 7 in Article II.
2. Congregations and clergy are related together in a diocese, cluster, or network (whether regional or affinity-based), united by a bishop.
This section is superfluous. It should be dropped.
3. Each diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based) shall be represented in the Provincial Assembly.
“3. Every judicatory shall be represented in the Provincial Assembly by its bishops and such clerical and lay delegates as provided by Canon.”
4. Dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based) may band together for common mission, or as distinct jurisdictions at the sub-Provincial level.
“4. Judicatories may form internal provinces and other voluntary associations for common mission and adopt and amend constitutions, canons, and regulations for the government of such ecclesiastical bodies and the management of their affairs.”
5. Each bishop in active episcopal ministry shall be included in a Provincial College of Bishops as provided by canon.
“5. There shall be a Provincial College of Bishops consisting of all bishops in active episcopal ministry in this church. The organization of the Provincial College of Bishop and the frequency of its meetings shall be determined by Canon.”
6. There shall be a Provincial Council elected by the Provincial Assembly.
“6. There shall be a Provincial Council which shall be elected by the Provincial Assembly and shall be accountable to the Provincial Assembly and subject to its direction and control.”
7. This Constitution recognizes the right of each diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based) to establish and maintain its own governance, constitution and canons not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this Province.
“7. All judicatories shall have the right to adopt and amend their own constitution and canons provided the provisions of such constitution and canons are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this constitution every judicatory shall have the power and authority to elect its bishop or bishops and its synod, by whatever name such body is designated, and clerical and lay delegates to the Provincial Assembly. Any Canon or decision of the Provincial Tribunal abrogating or curtailing this power and authority shall be null and void.”
ARTICLE V: AREAS OF PROVINCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The Provincial Council, subject to ratification by the Provincial Assembly, has power to make canons ordering our common life in respect to the following matters:1. Safeguarding the Faith and Order of the Province
2. Supporting the mission of the Province
3. Common Worship
4. Standards for ordination
5. Clergy support and discipline
6. Ecumenical and international relations
7. Norms for Holy Matrimony
8. Providing for the proper administration of the Province.
This article gives the power to make canons to the Provincial Council. This represents a radical innovation in ecclesiastical governance in the context of North American Anglicanism that has historically been synodical in its form of ecclesiastical governance. It is comparable in that sense to the innovations in theology and morality that the leaders of the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church have introduced in those provinces. To Anglicans like myself who value the synodical form of ecclesiastical governance and wish to preserve it, this article is one of a number of objectionable articles and sections in the provisional constitution. In a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance the Provincial Assembly would have the power to make canons. In giving this power to the Provincial Council, the provisional constitution not only departs from a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance but also moves in a direction that is strikingly similar to that of The Episcopal Church—the concentration of ecclesiastical authority in the hands of a few leaders without any accountability required from them. One only has to look at how ecclesiastical authority has been abused in the Church of England in the past as well as in the Episcopal Church in recent times to see the dangers of this form of ecclesiastical governance. This article should be dropped altogether from the provisional constitution.
ARTICLE VI: THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY
1. The chief work of the Provincial Assembly shall be strengthening the mission of the Province.“1. The governing body of this church, hereinafter called the Provincial Assembly, shall consist of three houses, namely, the College of Bishops, the House of Clergy, and the House of Laity.”
2. The Provincial Assembly shall ratify Constitutional amendments and Canons adopted by the Provincial Council. The process of ratification is set forth by canon.
As I pointed to the attention of Matt Kennedy in a reply to a comment he wrote in response to one of my articles on the provisional constitution, Section 2 requires the Provincial Assembly to ratify constitutional amendments and canons adopted by the Provincial Council. It uses the imperative “shall” expressing command or obligation and commonly understood to mean “must.” He argued that I was misinterpreting the section. I pointed to his attention that if he and I were able to interpret the section differently, then the wording of the section was not clear. It was open to more than one interpretation. Section2 also conflicts with Article XV, Section 2:
“2. This Constitution may be amended by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose. Any changes or amendments to the Constitution shall not become effective in less than ninety days following that meeting.”
These defects, however, are not the only flaws in this article. Under its provisions the Provincial Assembly is a purely titular body. It has no real power. It cannot initiate or adopt legislation. It cannot elect officers, appoint committees, or adopt standing rules. It cannot hold hearings or conduct investigations. It cannot summon witnesses or require testimony. It cannot censure its own members, members of the Provincial Council, or any other body in the ACNA, suspend them, or remove them from office. It elects the members of the Provincial Council but it cannot hold them to account for their policies or actions. Bishop Robert Duncan has compared the Provincial Assembly with the AMiA Winter Conference. The latter is a three-day pep rally and plays no role in the governance of the AMiA.
“2. The Provincial Assembly shall have power and authority:
“(1) To make Canons and Regulations for the common life of the Anglican Church in North America in the following matters, that is, the faith and order of the church; the mission of the church; the nomination and election and the confirmation of the election of bishops of the church; the worship of the church; the training, ordination, licensing, and continuing development of clergy; clergy support and discipline; ecumenical and interfaith relations; marriage, divorce, and remarriage; and the proper administration of the church.
“(2) To determine the composition of the Provincial Council, to elect the members of the Council, to fix the term of office of members of the Council, and to fill casual vacancies in the Council,
“(3) To issue Directives to the Provincial Council, to require reports from the Council, and to approve or disapprove the actions of the Council.
“(4) To regulate the conduct of its business under Standing Orders or otherwise as it may deem proper.
“(5) To appoint a General Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other Officers of the Provincial Assembly as it may deem necessary.
“(6) To appoint committees, boards, commissions, and task forces.
“(7) To censure members and officers of the Provincial Assembly, members and officers of the Provincial Council, and members and officers of other committees, boards, commissions, and task forces, to suspend them for reasonable cause, and to remove them from office if and when it deems that their removal is warranted.
“(8) To adopt and revise the budget of the church and to approve and modify its program.
“(9) To levy assessments on the judicatories of this church, to determine the method of calculating such assessments and their apportionment between the several judicatories, to suspend a judicatory from membership in the church for non-payment of such assessments, and to revoke the suspension of a judicatory upon payment of arrears.”
[3. The Provincial Assembly shall elect the Provincial Council.]
The proposed amendments strike this section from theprovisioanl constitution as it is redundant. [Note: This comment was not in the original paper.]
4. The Provincial Assembly shall be composed of representatives of all the dioceses, clusters and networks (whether regional or affinity-based) in balance and in number from the laity, bishops and other clergy as from time-to-time determined by canon.
“4. [or 3.] (1) The House of Clergy shall consist of clerical delegates from each judicatory, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.
“(2) The House of Laity shall consist of lay delegates from each judicatory of this church, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon. Provided that there shall be twice as many lay delegates from each judicatory as there shall be clergy delegates from the same judicatory.
“(3) The person who holds office as General Secretary or Treasurer of the Provincial Assembly shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Provincial Assembly and shall be entitled to propose motions and speak. However, unless such a person is otherwise a member of the Provincial Assembly, that person shall not be permitted to vote nor to be counted in a quorum.”
5. The Provincial Assembly may meet as often as annually, but shall meet as an Electing Assembly at least quintennially. Meetings shall be called as provided for by canon.
“5. At each session of the Provincial Assembly the House of Clergy and the House of Laity shall elect its own President and such other Officers as it considers necessary.
“5. [or 6.] (1) Ordinary sessions of the Provincial Assembly shall be held at intervals not exceeding two years, and at such time and place as the Provincial Assembly may by resolution appoint or failing any such resolution then as the Provincial Council may by resolution appoint.
“(2) A special session of the Provincial Assembly shall be convened by the Archbishop at the request in writing of not less than one-half of the members of the College of Bishops or of one-third of the members of the House of Clergy or of one-third of the members of the House of Laity or upon a resolution of the Provincial Council.”
“(3) At least four months before an ordinary or special session of the Provincial Assembly the Archbishop shall by written instrument signed by him summon the bishops of the several judicatories of this church, and require them to convene the prescribed number of clerical and lay delegates at the appointed time and place.”
ARTICLE VII: THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
1. The Provincial Council is the governing body for the Anglican Church in North America and shall have the authority to establish the program and budget of the Province.“1. (1) The Provincial Council shall be the executive body of the Provincial Assembly and shall carryout the work of the Provincial Assembly between the sessions of the Provincial Assembly.
“ (2) The Provincial Council shall exercise such duties, functions, and powers as prescribed by the Constitution and Canons of this Church and the Regulation and Directive of the Provincial Assembly except that the Provincial Council shall have no power or authority to make Canons and Regulations of this Church or to amend, alter, add to, or repeal the provisions of the Constitution of this Church.”
2. The membership of Provincial Council shall be composed [of an equal number of bishops, clergy and lay persons, chosen by the Provincial Assembly from among its members. Initially, the Provincial Council shall be composed of the members of the Common Cause Leadership council, as constituted under the Common Case Articles] as provided for by Canon.
“The membership of Provincial Council shall be composed as provided for by Canon.” This amendment is poorly worded.
“2. The Provincial Council shall be composed of such members as provided by Canon. The qualifications of the members of the Provincial Council, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, their eligibility for reelection or reappointment, and the manner in which casual vacancies in the Council are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.”
This admendment would eliminate the need for Sections 3, 4, and 5.
3. Provincial Council members hold office for five years. The term of office ends at the close of the Provincial Assembly meeting which elects the successor.
See above.
4. A retiring member of the Provincial Council is eligible for re-election for one additional term, but not for a third.
See above. This section is an example of how the sections of the provisional constitution say more than they need to. It would have sufficed to say, “No member of the Provincial Council shall be eligible for more than two terms of office as a member of the Council.” Other problems is they try to say too much with too few words or they do not say enough when they need to.
5. The Provincial Council may appoint up to six persons as full members.
See above.
6. The Provincial Council may appoint a deputy chair, a secretary, a treasurer and such other office bearers as it deems necessary.
“6. The Provincial Council may elect a Deputy President of the Provincial Council and such other Officers as it may deem necessary for the conduct of its business, and may employ such staff as may be authorized by the Regulations and Directives of the Provincial Assembly.”
7. The Provincial Council will meet at least once in each calendar year. A minimum of fifteen days notice must be given for each meeting.
“7. The Provincial Council shall meet at least three times in every year. At least fifteen days’ notice must be given for every meeting of the Provincial Council.”
8. Special meetings of the Provincial Council may be called by the Chair or by the request of one-third of the Provincial Council’s membership.
“8. Special meetings of the Provincial Council may be convened by the President of the Provincial Council if and when he thinks fit and must be convened by the President of the Provincial Council at the request of one-third of the members of the Provincial Council. In the event the President of the Provincial Council fails to convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council within 30 days after such request is made, the members of the Provincial Council requesting a special meeting of the Provincial Council may convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council.”
9. The Chair with the assistance of the other office bearers will be responsible for the agenda of each Provincial Council meeting. Any member has a right to have items of business placed on the agenda for consideration.
“9. (1) The President of the Provincial Council shall, with the assistance of the Executive Committee of the Provincial Council and any staff of the Provincial Council employed under the provisions of this Constitution, be responsible for preparing the agenda for each meeting of the Provincial Council except that when members of the Provincial Council request or convene a special meeting under the provisions of Section 8, they shall be responsible for preparing the agenda of the special meeting, and the staff of the Provincial Council shall provide them with such assistance as they may require. The agenda for a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be stated in the notice of the meeting and the business transacted at a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be confined to the items on such agenda.
“(2) All members of the Provincial Council shall have the right to have items of business placed on the agenda of a regular meeting of the Provincial Council for consideration. “
10. The Provincial Council shall have an Executive Committee, whose membership and duties may be established by canon.
Initially the Executive Committee shall be composed of the members of the Common Cause Executive Committee, as constituted under the Common Cause Articles.
“10. The Provincial Council shall have an Executive Committee, the membership of which, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, and manner in which casual vacancies in the Executive Committee are filled shall, together with the duties of the Executive Committee, be prescribed by Canon.
“Initially the Executive Committee shall be composed of the members of the Common Cause Executive Committee, as constituted under the Common Cause Articles.”
ARTICLE VIII: THE LIMITS OF PROVINCIAL AUTHORITY
1. The member dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based) and those dioceses banded together as jurisdictions shall each maintain all authority they do not yield to the Province by their own consent. The powers not delegated to the Province by this constitution nor prohibited by this Constitution to these dioceses or jurisdictions, are reserved to these dioceses or jurisdictions respectively.Is it intended that only geographic dioceses organized on the basis of territory may band together as “jurisdictions”? This is certainly what this provision says. “Maintain” means to “keep up, keep going, keep in repair, provide with subsistence, support, back up” or “assert as true.” The correct word is “retain,” which means “keep possession of, not lose, continue to have or hold or practice or recognize, not abolish or discard or alter, keep in place, not release.” Yield” means “to give up possession of or right to, to surrender.” If this section is intended to preserve the autonomy of judicatory, then the more appropriate term would be “delegate” meaning “to commit authority to.” This section is so worded that it actually limits the authority of the judicatories and not the province. If the intention is to limit the authority of the province, I recommend the following changes:
“1. The member judicatories of this church shall retain all power and authority that they do not delegate to this church under the provisions of this Constitution. The power and authority that is not assigned to the church by this Constitution shall be reserved to the judicatories of this church and may be exercised by each judicatory independently or in conjunction of one or more other judicatories.”
2. The Province shall make no canon abridging the authority of any member dioceses, clusters or networks (whether regional or affinity-based) and those dioceses banded together as jurisdictions with respect to its practice regarding the ordination of women to the diaconate or presbyterate.
If the intent of this section is to protect judicatories that support the ordination of women from legislation prohibiting women’s ordination, the following changes are indicated:
“2. The power and authority of a member judicatory to ordain both men and women to the diaconate and the presbyterate or to ordain men exclusively to the presbyterate or the diaconate and the presbyterate shall not be abrogated or curtailed by Canon or by decision of the Provincial Tribunal.”
This provision would also protect judicatories that are opposed to women’s ordination from legislation and judicial decisions imposing women’s ordination upon all the judicatories of the ACNA.
ARTICLE IX: THE ARCHBISHOP
1. The Archbishop will be known as the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America. The Archbishop will be elected by the College of Bishops.
The Archbishop is elected by the College of Bishops. This represents a radical innovation in ecclesiastical governance in the context of North American Anglicanism, which, as I previously noted, that has historically been synodical in its form of ecclesiastical governance. In the Canadian church the House of Bishops nominates candidates for the office of Primate and the House of Clergy and the House of Laity elects one of these candidates as Primate. The House of Clergy and the House of Laity may call for addition nominations if they are not satisfied with the candidates that the House of Bishops has nominated. In the US church a joint nominating committee made up of bishops, clergy, and laity nominates candidates for the office of presiding bishop. Further nominations may be made from the floor at a joint session of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. The House of Bishops elects the Presiding Bishop from among the nominees. The House of Deputies then confirms or does not confirm the choice of the House of Bishops. Before the office of Presiding Bishop became independent, the Presiding Bishop was the senior diocesan bishop of the US church. As a diocesan bishop he was elected by the diocesan convention of his diocese. In all three processes the clergy and the laity play a significant role.
The method of choosing the primate of the province adopted in Section 1 is modeled on that of the Church of Nigeria. It differs, however, from that of the Church of Nigeria in that it does not even give a token role to the clergy and the laity. In a survey of the constitutions and canons of Anglican provinces and dioceses on the Internet, I came across only one other province in which the primate of the province was elected by the bishops of the province. This was the Church of Ireland. However, the Irish bishops, with the exception of the primate, are themselves elected by an electoral college made up of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected from and by each diocese of the province. So the clergy and the laity are indirectly involved in the primatial electoral process. In the other Anglican provinces surveyed, the general synod of the province (New Zealand, Southern Cone), an electoral college consisting of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected by the dioceses of the province (Wales), or a board of electors consisting of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected by the general synod of the province (Australia, Melanesia) elects the primate of the province. All these methods of electing the primate are synodical, involving the clergy and the laity in the process. It is quite evident from the proposed code of canons that the Governance Task Force is not seeking to introduce into the Anglican Church in North America a primatial election process modeled on that of the Church of Ireland since the proposed code of canons urge judicatories to authorize the College of Bishops to choose their bishop and give new judicatories no choice in the matter, placing the selection of their bishop in the hands of the College of Bishops. Clearly the model that it is seeking to introduce is an African one, both in the choice of bishops of the judicatories and the primate of the province, doing away with a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance that is a part of the heritage of North American Anglicanism, and replacing it with an African form of ecclesiastical governance that is not too distant from that of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the wake of the child sexual abuse scandals that have torn the Roman Catholic Church and the failure of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to deal adequately or appropriately with the perpetrators, Roman Catholics are calling for lay involvement in the selection of Roman Catholic bishops in North America. What happened in the Roman Catholic Church points to the inherent weaknesses of that type of hierarchy and the abuses that can flourish under it. Bishops are appointed for life. There is very little real accountability. Yet it is a form of ecclesiastical governance that is only a step or two away from that of the Roman Catholic Church that with the provisional constitution and the proposed code of canons the Governance Task Force is seeking to introduce into the Anglican Church in North America.
With so many other models that they could have used, why has the Governance Task Force chosen African models? We owe a debt of gratitude to those African provinces that have provided a safe haven for North American congregations and clergy involved in serious theological disputes with their bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church. But does repaying that debt require the forsaking of the North American Anglican heritage of a synodical form of ecclesiastical government and the adoption of a form of church government alien to North American Anglicans? Is that the price of admission to the Anglican Communion? If so, why have the other provinces of the Anglican Communion not been required to pay the same price? Why then have they been allowed to develop or retain their own form of ecclesiastical governance? Or are members of the Governance Task Force with their own radical notions of how the Anglican Church in North America should be governed using the present crisis to put their ideas into practice? Radicalism is not confined to the advanced section of the liberal wing of the Anglican Communion. It can also be found within the conservative wing of the Communion. Do African models hold a special appeal for those on the Governance Task Force with radical leanings in church government?
The office of Archbishop is independent and fulltime like that of the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. Noting how the office of Presiding Bishop has developed in The Episcopal Church and how ecclesiastical authority is concentrated in the Provincial Council under the provisions of the provisional constitution, the wisdom of this provision must be questioned.
“1. There shall be an Archbishop of this church who shall be known by the style and title of the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, herein referred to as the Archbishop.
2. The person elected as Archbishop will hold office for a term of five years concluding at the end of the meeting of the College of Bishops which elects the next Archbishop. An Archbishop who has served one term of office may be elected for a second term of office but not a third.
“[2.] The Archbishop shall be a member of the College of Bishops in good standing.”
“2. [or 3.] The Archbishop shall be elected in such manner as shall be prescribed by Canon. The Archbishop shall hold office for a term of five years or until his successor is elected. The Archbishop may be reelected for one additional term of five years provided that no Archbishop may serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of 72.
“4. During any vacancy in the office or incapacity of the Archbishop or during his absence from North America for a period exceeding thirty days, the authorities, powers, rights, and duties of the Archbishop under this Constitution shall be exercised by the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church, is at the time in North America, and is able and willing to act. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
Initially, the Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership shall serve as
Archbishop and Primate of the Province.
This section and similar sections should have been placed in a separate article titled “Transitional Provisions.”
3. The Archbishop convenes the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, Provincial Council and College of Bishops and represents the Province in the Councils of the Church.
“3. [or 5.] The Archbishop shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, convene the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, the Provincial Council, and the College of Bishops.
“6. The Archbishop shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the President of the College of Bishops. In the absence of the Archbishop the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church and who is present, willing, and able to act shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the College of Bishops. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration. The Archbishop or in his absence the Deputy President of the Provincial Council shall be the President of the Provincial Council. In the absence of both the Archbishop and the Deputy President the Provincial Council shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson of the meeting.”
The Archbishop is elected by the College of Bishops. This represents a radical innovation in ecclesiastical governance in the context of North American Anglicanism, which, as I previously noted, that has historically been synodical in its form of ecclesiastical governance. In the Canadian church the House of Bishops nominates candidates for the office of Primate and the House of Clergy and the House of Laity elects one of these candidates as Primate. The House of Clergy and the House of Laity may call for addition nominations if they are not satisfied with the candidates that the House of Bishops has nominated. In the US church a joint nominating committee made up of bishops, clergy, and laity nominates candidates for the office of presiding bishop. Further nominations may be made from the floor at a joint session of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies. The House of Bishops elects the Presiding Bishop from among the nominees. The House of Deputies then confirms or does not confirm the choice of the House of Bishops. Before the office of Presiding Bishop became independent, the Presiding Bishop was the senior diocesan bishop of the US church. As a diocesan bishop he was elected by the diocesan convention of his diocese. In all three processes the clergy and the laity play a significant role.
The method of choosing the primate of the province adopted in Section 1 is modeled on that of the Church of Nigeria. It differs, however, from that of the Church of Nigeria in that it does not even give a token role to the clergy and the laity. In a survey of the constitutions and canons of Anglican provinces and dioceses on the Internet, I came across only one other province in which the primate of the province was elected by the bishops of the province. This was the Church of Ireland. However, the Irish bishops, with the exception of the primate, are themselves elected by an electoral college made up of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected from and by each diocese of the province. So the clergy and the laity are indirectly involved in the primatial electoral process. In the other Anglican provinces surveyed, the general synod of the province (New Zealand, Southern Cone), an electoral college consisting of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected by the dioceses of the province (Wales), or a board of electors consisting of the provincial bishops and clerical and lay electors elected by the general synod of the province (Australia, Melanesia) elects the primate of the province. All these methods of electing the primate are synodical, involving the clergy and the laity in the process. It is quite evident from the proposed code of canons that the Governance Task Force is not seeking to introduce into the Anglican Church in North America a primatial election process modeled on that of the Church of Ireland since the proposed code of canons urge judicatories to authorize the College of Bishops to choose their bishop and give new judicatories no choice in the matter, placing the selection of their bishop in the hands of the College of Bishops. Clearly the model that it is seeking to introduce is an African one, both in the choice of bishops of the judicatories and the primate of the province, doing away with a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance that is a part of the heritage of North American Anglicanism, and replacing it with an African form of ecclesiastical governance that is not too distant from that of the Roman Catholic Church.
In the wake of the child sexual abuse scandals that have torn the Roman Catholic Church and the failure of the Roman Catholic hierarchy to deal adequately or appropriately with the perpetrators, Roman Catholics are calling for lay involvement in the selection of Roman Catholic bishops in North America. What happened in the Roman Catholic Church points to the inherent weaknesses of that type of hierarchy and the abuses that can flourish under it. Bishops are appointed for life. There is very little real accountability. Yet it is a form of ecclesiastical governance that is only a step or two away from that of the Roman Catholic Church that with the provisional constitution and the proposed code of canons the Governance Task Force is seeking to introduce into the Anglican Church in North America.
With so many other models that they could have used, why has the Governance Task Force chosen African models? We owe a debt of gratitude to those African provinces that have provided a safe haven for North American congregations and clergy involved in serious theological disputes with their bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church. But does repaying that debt require the forsaking of the North American Anglican heritage of a synodical form of ecclesiastical government and the adoption of a form of church government alien to North American Anglicans? Is that the price of admission to the Anglican Communion? If so, why have the other provinces of the Anglican Communion not been required to pay the same price? Why then have they been allowed to develop or retain their own form of ecclesiastical governance? Or are members of the Governance Task Force with their own radical notions of how the Anglican Church in North America should be governed using the present crisis to put their ideas into practice? Radicalism is not confined to the advanced section of the liberal wing of the Anglican Communion. It can also be found within the conservative wing of the Communion. Do African models hold a special appeal for those on the Governance Task Force with radical leanings in church government?
The office of Archbishop is independent and fulltime like that of the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church. Noting how the office of Presiding Bishop has developed in The Episcopal Church and how ecclesiastical authority is concentrated in the Provincial Council under the provisions of the provisional constitution, the wisdom of this provision must be questioned.
“1. There shall be an Archbishop of this church who shall be known by the style and title of the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, herein referred to as the Archbishop.
2. The person elected as Archbishop will hold office for a term of five years concluding at the end of the meeting of the College of Bishops which elects the next Archbishop. An Archbishop who has served one term of office may be elected for a second term of office but not a third.
“[2.] The Archbishop shall be a member of the College of Bishops in good standing.”
“2. [or 3.] The Archbishop shall be elected in such manner as shall be prescribed by Canon. The Archbishop shall hold office for a term of five years or until his successor is elected. The Archbishop may be reelected for one additional term of five years provided that no Archbishop may serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of 72.
“4. During any vacancy in the office or incapacity of the Archbishop or during his absence from North America for a period exceeding thirty days, the authorities, powers, rights, and duties of the Archbishop under this Constitution shall be exercised by the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church, is at the time in North America, and is able and willing to act. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
Initially, the Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership shall serve as
Archbishop and Primate of the Province.
This section and similar sections should have been placed in a separate article titled “Transitional Provisions.”
3. The Archbishop convenes the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, Provincial Council and College of Bishops and represents the Province in the Councils of the Church.
“3. [or 5.] The Archbishop shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, convene the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, the Provincial Council, and the College of Bishops.
“6. The Archbishop shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the President of the College of Bishops. In the absence of the Archbishop the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church and who is present, willing, and able to act shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the College of Bishops. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration. The Archbishop or in his absence the Deputy President of the Provincial Council shall be the President of the Provincial Council. In the absence of both the Archbishop and the Deputy President the Provincial Council shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson of the meeting.”
ARTICLE X: THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS
1. The chief work of the College of Bishops shall be the propagation and defense of the Faith and Order of the Church, and in service as the visible sign and expression of the Unity of the Church.“1. The chief work of the College of Bishops shall be to propagate and defend the faith and order of the church and to serve as the visible sign and expression of the unity of the church.”
2. Each bishop in active episcopal ministry shall be included in the College of Bishops as provided by canon.
This section is redundant. See Article IV, Section 5.
3. The College of Bishops shall elect the Archbishop from among its members.
The qualifications for the office of archbishop belong in Article IX as does the manner of his election or appointment. Section 3 should be dropped.
4. The College of Bishops will meet with such frequency as best serves its chief work, and at the call of the Archbishop or of the episcopal members of the Provincial Council.
“4. [or 2.] The members of the College of Bishops may apart from their meetings as a College of Bishops of the Provincial Assembly meet with such frequency as may serve the chief work of the College of Bishops. Such meetings shall be convened by the Archbishop on his own initiative or at the request in writing of the Provincial Council or not less than one-third of the bishops, and shall have power to regulate their own business.”
5. The College of Bishops shall have authority in the election of bishops of the Province which may be: a) consent to an election from a diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based), or b) the actual choice and consent from among two or more nominees put forward by a diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based), in the manner set forward by canon.
This section also represents a radical innovation in ecclesiastical governance in the context of North American Anglicanism in that it provides a constitutional basis for the introduction of the Nigerian and Ugandan practice of the house of bishops of the province choosing the bishop or bishops of a diocese. North American Anglicans have a long tradition of a diocese electing its own bishop or bishops, which has its origin in the Church of England in which the bishop of a diocese was by ancient custom elected by the canons, or members of the cathedral chapter, of the cathedral of the see that was vacant. Even the Archbishop of Canterbury was elected by the cathedral chapter of Canterbury cathedral. Anglicans in Australia, New Zealand, and Southern Cone have also preserved this tradition. In Australia the diocesan synod or a board of electors composed of clerical and lay electors elected by the diocesan synod elects the bishop of the diocese, in New Zealand an electoral college composed of the other bishops of the diocese and the clerical and lay members of the diocesan synod elect the bishop of a diocese, and in Southern Cone the diocesan synod elects the bishop of a diocese.
In the Province of Canterbury the Archbishop of Canterbury by ancient custom had the right to give or withhold consent to the election of a bishop-elect within his province. The Canadian practice of the bishops of an ecclesiastical province giving consent to the election of a bishop-elect and the US practice of the General Convention or the House of Bishops and the standing committees of the dioceses of the province giving consent to the election of a bishop-elect are derived from this practice. The Australian practice of the bishops of a province confirming the election of a bishop elect of a diocese within the province, the New Zealand practice of the bishops of the province first giving consent to the election of bishop-elect of a diocese and then the general synod of the province sanctioning the election, the Southern Cone practice of the bishops and the provincial executive council of the province confirming the election of a bishop-elect of a diocese are also derived from the same practice.
The Nigerian and Ugandan practice, on the other hand, harkens back to a time when the Anglican churches in Nigeria and Uganda were extraterritorial jurisdictions of the Church of England. Dioceses in these churches were not autonomous and the Archbishop of Canterbury or his deputy appointed the bishop of a diocese.
The autonomy of the diocese, a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance, and the practice of a diocese electing its own bishop or bishops are closely tied together. In Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Southern Cone, and the United States dioceses are relatively autonomous. Their form of ecclesiastical governance is synodical and the form of ecclesiastical governance of the province is synodical. Dioceses elect their own bishops; and the general synod of the province either directly in the case of Canada, New Zealand, Southern Cone, and the United States or indirectly in the case of Australia elects the primate of the province. In a federation of groups of churches like the Anglican Church in North America, in which the groups of churches forming the federation are relatively autonomous, a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance and the practice of dioceses electing their own bishops are more consistent with the federal nature of the ACNA. The Nigerian and Ugandan practice of the house of bishops of the province choosing the bishop of a diocese, however, is not, and represents a serious curtailment of diocesan autonomy. This should be a matter of concern in the light of the growing centralization of The Episcopal Church in the United States and the resulting loss of diocesan autonomy in that Anglican province. Diocesan autonomy was one of the issues that led the Dioceses of San Joaquin, Forth Worth, Quincy, and Pittsburgh to break with The Episcopal Church.
Even the proposed adaptation of the Nigerian and Ugandan practice in the provisional canons and the proposed code of canons curtail the autonomy of a judicatory in its selection of a new bishop. Under this proposal a judicatory may nominate two or three candidates from which the college of bishops may choose a new bishop for the judicatory. However, the college of bishops is not bound to choose one of the candidates nominated by the judicatory and may chose a candidate nominated by one of its members or by an individual or group that is not part of the college of bishops or the judicatory. The college of bishops is not required to request further nominations from the judicatory if it fails to chose one of the first three candidates nominated by the college of bishops. Such a method of choosing bishops is susceptible to all kinds of political maneuvering, manipulation, and abuse.
The Nigerian and Ugandan method of choosing bishops, like the Canadian and the US methods, has its drawbacks. The Canadian method may have produced an unapologetically pro-gay bishop of New Westminster but it has also produced a conservative moderator of the Anglican Network in Canada. The US method may have produced a Buddhist bishop of Michigan and an openly gay bishop of New Hampshire but it has also produced a conservative bishop of Fort Worth and a conservative bishop of South Carolina. The main drawback is not the method itself but the people using it. Liberals elect the bishop of New Westminster, the bishop of Michigan, and the Bishop of New Hampshire. In the African provinces of the Anglican Communion the practice of the house of bishops of the province choosing the bishop of a diocese has led to riots and violence, the result of a house of bishop that is dominated by members of an ethnic, linguistic, or tribal group electing a member of that group as the bishop of a diocese is largely made up of members of another ethnic, linguistic, or tribal group. The people of the diocese have shown their rejection of the house of bishops’ choice by locking the new bishop out of the cathedral, boycotting his enthronement, and taking to the streets in protest.
While Canada and the United States do not suffer from the kind of ethnic, linguistic, and tribal divisions that plague the African subcontinent, conservative North American Anglicans do have deep theological divisions that, while they may be dormant at the present time, are likely to awaken in the near future. One can expect to intense competition between different theological affinity groups for the dominance of the Provincial Council and the College of Bishops since in dominating these bodies a theological affinity group would be able to not only control the direction of the ACNA but also the selection of new ACNA leaders. A very likely scenario is that of the College of Bishops appointing a charismatic to be the bishop of a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic judicatory or a traditionalist Anglo-Catholic to be the bishop of a charismatic judicatory.
The provisional constitution and the proposed code of canons do not incorporate any safeguards to prevent these kinds of developments from happening. In urging the judicatories of the ACNA to adopt the African practice of a provincial house of bishops choosing diocesan bishops in place of the North American practice of dioceses electing their own bishops, the Governance Task Force is urging them to trade one set of problems for another set of problems.
North American Anglicans do not have to sacrifice their heritage of autonomy of the diocese, a synodical form of ecclesiastical governance, and a long tradition of a diocese electing its own bishop or bishops in order to preserve Anglican orthodoxy, to prevent the disappearance of a “biblically faithful, historically authentic Anglicanism” in North America. They do not have to sacrifice this heritage in order to transmit the gospel intact to future generations and to extend the Anglican Church in Canada and the United States.
“3. A judicatory shall report the election of a bishop-elect of the judicatory to the Archbishop in order to obtain the confirmation of the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall be set forth in the Canons. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council fail to confirm the election of a bishop elect of a judicatory, the judicatory may request that the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council reconsider their decision. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council do not reverse their decision and confirm the election of the bishop elect of a judicatory, the election shall be null and void and the election procedure must be repeated as if the see had become vacant at the time that the election became null and void.”
“4. 4. If the synod of a judicatory, by whatever name such body is designated, fails on three separate occasions to elect a bishop, the synod may, either absolutely or subject to any such conditions it may think fit to impose, delegate its power and authority to elect a bishop to the members of the Provincial Council, and the election shall be made by the members of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall set forth in the Canons. The Archbishop or the Deputy President of the Provincial Council shall report the results of the election to the College of Bishops which shall proceed with the confirmation of the election in accordance with the same procedure for the confirmation of an election made by the synod of a judicatory. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the synod of a judicatory from rescinding such delegation of its power and authority and subsequently electing a bishop.”
ARTICLE XI: PROVINCIAL TRIBUNAL
There shall be an ecclesiastical court of final decision to be known as the Provincial Tribunal consisting of seven members, both lay and clergy, who shall be appointed by the Provincial Council on such terms and conditions as determined by canon. The jurisdiction of the Provincial Tribunal shall be to determine matters in dispute arising from the Constitution and Canons of the Province and such other matters as may be authorized by canon.“1. There shall be an ecclesiastical court of last resort to be know as the Provincial Tribunal consisting of seven members, three of whom shall be bishops ordinary of the several judicatories of this church and four whom shall be laypersons.
“2. The members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be appointed by the Provincial Assembly as follows, that is to say, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the College of Bishops, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the House of Clergy and a bishop and two laypersons on the nomination of the House of Laity.
“3. A president and deputy president shall as often as may be necessary be chosen from among the lay members of the Provincial Tribunal by the College of Bishops, or, if the Provincial Assembly is not in session, by a meeting of the members of the College of Bishops.
“4. The qualifications of lay members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon.
“5. The term of office of members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
“Vacancies in the membership of the Provincial Tribunal shall occur and be filled in such manner, as may be prescribed by or under Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
“6. The Provincial Tribunal shall have jurisdiction:
“(1) To hear and determine disputes over the meaning of the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church.
“(2) To hear and determine appeals from any determination any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church and any determination of any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the canons of the a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church.
“(3) To hear and determine such other matters as may be authorized by Canon.
“7. Any person who brings a charge before any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church or any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the aforesaid canons if dissatisfied with its determination or recommendation and any person so charged if dissatisfied with the recommendation or sentence pronounced upon such recommendation may institute an appeal to the Provincial Tribunal in accordance with such procedure as shall be prescribed by Canon.
“8. The decision of the Provincial Tribunal shall be final in all matters brought before the Provincial Tribunal.”
ARTICLE XII: OWNERSHIP OF PROPERTY
All church property, both real and personal, owned by each member congregation now and in the future is and shall be solely and exclusively owned by each member congregation and shall not be subject to any trust interest or any other claim of ownership arising out of the canon law of this Province. Where property is held in a different manner by any diocese or grouping, such ownership shall be preserved.With so many local congregations that left the Anglican Church of Canada and The Episcopal Church having either been forced to vacate local church property due to the prospect of lengthy and expensive litigation or due to an unfavorable court decision after such litigation, it makes no sense to permit some judicatories to retain the practice of the judicatory holding local church property in trust for a local congregation. The Anglican Church in North America needs to take a strong position on the right of a local congregation to own the property that it utilizes. The following proposed changes adopt such a position. But they also provide a reasonable time period in which the title to local church property held in trust by a judicatory may be transferred to the local congregation. They also recognize that the judicatory may have an interest in the property as a result of indebtedness to the judicatory that the local congregation may have incurred by borrowing money from the judicatory to purchase the property.
“1. Legal title to all property utilized by local congregations shall be indefeasibly vested in the local congregation, or in a corporation owned and controlled by the local congregation, or in one or more trustees that are appointed or elected by the local congregation and hold the local church property in trust for the benefit of the local congregation. A local congregation may dispose of its property as it determines, subject to any self-accepted indebtedness or other self-accepted restrictions.
“2. Legal title to any local church property held in trust on behalf of a local congregation by a judicatory shall be transferred to the local congregation within one year of the adoption of this Constitution.
“3. Every local congregation shall have full power to take care of and administer its local church property and shall be bound to do so out of its own funds.
“4. Legal title to the undisposed property of a local congregation that disbands or ceases to exist shall pass to the judicatory of this church to which the local congregation belongs except when the local congregation has made other provisions consistent with Canadian or United States laws affecting not-for-profit corporations in its articles of incorporation, constitution, or bylaws.
“5. Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or curtail the right of this church or a judicatory thereof to own, hold, manage, and convey property in its own name for the purpose of carrying out ecclesiastical programs.”
ARTICLE XIII: FINANCES
Each member diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based) or any group of dioceses organized into a distinct jurisdiction agree to share the cost of operating the Province as provided by canon.1. Every congregation shall control its own finances and shall hold and administer its own funds, movable property and trusts and shall have full power to invest, sell, donate, alienate, administer and otherwise deal in any manner whatsoever at its discretion with such funds, movable property and trusts: provided that all terms and conditions under which the funds, property and trusts are held or subject to which they were donated or acquired shall be complied with.
2. Each judicatory of this church shall be responsible for its share of the costs, charges, and expenses associated with the operation of this church as prescribed by Canon.
ARTICLE XIV: REMOVAL FROM MEMBERSHIP
As may be provided by canon, a member diocese, cluster or network (whether regional or affinity-based) or any group of dioceses organized into a distinct jurisdiction may be removed from membership in the Province, after due warning from the Executive Committee, if agreed to by two-thirds of the members present and voting and at least a majority in two of the three orders of bishops, clergy and laity within the Provincial Council.
“1. A judicatory may, by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly, be suspended from membership in this church for up to six years for such offenses as the Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by Canon.
“Provided that any Canon prescribing an offense or offenses for which a judicatory may be suspended from membership in this church must be ratified by all the judicatories of the church before it shall be in force.
“2. The Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by resolution what corrective actions the suspended judicatory must take during the period of suspension in order to be restored to membership in the church.
“3. At the conclusion of the period of suspension the Provincial Assembly may by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly restore the suspended judicatory to membership in the church if the Provincial Assembly is satisfied that the suspended judicatory has in good faith taken the prescribed corrective actions.
“4. The Provincial Assembly may by vote of two-thirds of the members of each house, expel from membership in this church a judicatory suspended under the provisions of this section that has, upon completion of the period of suspension or an additional period of suspension, failed to take the prescribed corrective actions.”
“1. A judicatory may, by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly, be suspended from membership in this church for up to six years for such offenses as the Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by Canon.
“Provided that any Canon prescribing an offense or offenses for which a judicatory may be suspended from membership in this church must be ratified by all the judicatories of the church before it shall be in force.
“2. The Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by resolution what corrective actions the suspended judicatory must take during the period of suspension in order to be restored to membership in the church.
“3. At the conclusion of the period of suspension the Provincial Assembly may by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly restore the suspended judicatory to membership in the church if the Provincial Assembly is satisfied that the suspended judicatory has in good faith taken the prescribed corrective actions.
“4. The Provincial Assembly may by vote of two-thirds of the members of each house, expel from membership in this church a judicatory suspended under the provisions of this section that has, upon completion of the period of suspension or an additional period of suspension, failed to take the prescribed corrective actions.”
ARTICLE XV: ADOPTION AND AMENDMENT
OF THIS CONSTITUTION
OF THIS CONSTITUTION
1. This Constitution has been adopted by the Leadership Council of the Common Cause Partnership serving as initial Provincial Council. It shall be submitted to the Provincial Assembly for ratification at a meeting to be called by the Provincial Council not later than 31 August 2009.
This section should have been placed in an article titled “Transitional Provisions.”
2. This Constitution may be amended by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose. Any changes or amendments to the Constitution shall not become effective in less than ninety days following that meeting.
“2. The provisions of this Constitution may be amended, altered, added to, or repealed by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a regular session of the Provincial Assembly or a special session of the Provincial Assembly called for purpose of amending, altering, adding to or, or repealing provisions of the Constitution. A copy of the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal shall be sent to each member of the Provincial Assembly and to the standing committee or equivalent of the synod of each judicatory not less than thirty days before the first day of the session of the Provincial Assembly at which the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal is to be presented. No amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal of the provisions of this Constitution shall become effective less than ninety days after the session of the Provincial Assembly at which such amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal was adopted.”
The proposed change requires that a copy of a proposed amendment to the constitution of the Anglican Church in North America should sent to the members of the Provincial Assembly and the standing committees or equivalent of their respective judicatories at least 30 days before the first day of the session of the Provincial Assembly at which it will be presented. This gives time for the delegation and the standing committee of the judicatory to make any necessary consultations within the judicatory as well as with the delegations and standing committees of other judicatories on what position the judicatory will take in regards to the proposed amendment. It prevents the introduction of proposed amendments without any forewarning to the judicatories and their delegations.
We certify that the text of the Provisional Constitution set out above is the text of the Provisional Constitution of the Anglican Church in North America adopted by resolution of the Common Cause Leadership Council functioning as Provincial Council on the third day of December in the Year of our Lord 2008.
The Right Reverend Robert Duncan
Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership
The Venerable Charlie Masters
Secretary of the Common Cause Partnership
This section should have been placed in an article titled “Transitional Provisions.”
2. This Constitution may be amended by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at any regular or special meeting called for that purpose. Any changes or amendments to the Constitution shall not become effective in less than ninety days following that meeting.
“2. The provisions of this Constitution may be amended, altered, added to, or repealed by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a regular session of the Provincial Assembly or a special session of the Provincial Assembly called for purpose of amending, altering, adding to or, or repealing provisions of the Constitution. A copy of the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal shall be sent to each member of the Provincial Assembly and to the standing committee or equivalent of the synod of each judicatory not less than thirty days before the first day of the session of the Provincial Assembly at which the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal is to be presented. No amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal of the provisions of this Constitution shall become effective less than ninety days after the session of the Provincial Assembly at which such amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal was adopted.”
The proposed change requires that a copy of a proposed amendment to the constitution of the Anglican Church in North America should sent to the members of the Provincial Assembly and the standing committees or equivalent of their respective judicatories at least 30 days before the first day of the session of the Provincial Assembly at which it will be presented. This gives time for the delegation and the standing committee of the judicatory to make any necessary consultations within the judicatory as well as with the delegations and standing committees of other judicatories on what position the judicatory will take in regards to the proposed amendment. It prevents the introduction of proposed amendments without any forewarning to the judicatories and their delegations.
We certify that the text of the Provisional Constitution set out above is the text of the Provisional Constitution of the Anglican Church in North America adopted by resolution of the Common Cause Leadership Council functioning as Provincial Council on the third day of December in the Year of our Lord 2008.
The Right Reverend Robert Duncan
Moderator of the Common Cause Partnership
The Venerable Charlie Masters
Secretary of the Common Cause Partnership
APPENDIX
A PROPOSED CONSTITUTION
OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
PREAMBLE
OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH IN NORTH AMERICA
PREAMBLE
In the Name of God, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, Amen.
We are Anglicans in North America united by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures and presently members of the Common Cause Partnership.
We know ourselves to be members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
We are grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance.
We are grateful for the encouragement of Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion who gathered at Jerusalem in June 2008 and called on us to establish a new Province in North America.
We believe that this Constitution is faithful to that call and consistent with the Historic Faith and Order of the Church and we invite the prayers of all faithful Anglicans as we seek to be obedient disciples of Jesus Christ our One Lord and Savior.
We are Anglicans in North America united by our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the trustworthiness of the Holy Scriptures and presently members of the Common Cause Partnership.
We know ourselves to be members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.
We are grieved by the current state of brokenness within the Anglican Communion prompted by those who have embraced erroneous teaching and who have rejected a repeated call to repentance.
We are grateful for the encouragement of Primates of the worldwide Anglican Communion who gathered at Jerusalem in June 2008 and called on us to establish a new Province in North America.
We believe that this Constitution is faithful to that call and consistent with the Historic Faith and Order of the Church and we invite the prayers of all faithful Anglicans as we seek to be obedient disciples of Jesus Christ our One Lord and Savior.
ARTICLE I: FUNDAMENTAL DECLARATIONS
As the Anglican Church in North America, hereinafter referred to as “this church,” being a part of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church of Christ, we believe and confess Jesus Christ to be the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, we identify the following eight elements as characteristic of the Anglican Way, and essential for membership:
1. We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
2. We confess Baptism and the Supper of the Lord to be Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself in the Gospel, and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of His words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.
3. We aver that while all Anglicans historically have not agreed that episcopacy is of divine right and that the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity, they have agreed that episcopacy is a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity.
4. We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
5. Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.
6. We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.
7. We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.
8. We affirm the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and Jerusalem Declaration issued 29 June 2008.
In all these things, the Anglican Church in North America is determined by the help of God to hold and maintain, as the Anglican Way has received them, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to our posterity.
We seek to be and remain in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
1. We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired Word of God, containing all things necessary for salvation, and to be the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian faith and life.
2. We confess Baptism and the Supper of the Lord to be Sacraments ordained by Christ Himself in the Gospel, and thus to be ministered with unfailing use of His words of institution and of the elements ordained by Him.
3. We aver that while all Anglicans historically have not agreed that episcopacy is of divine right and that the Church of Christ exists only in one order or form of ecclesiastical polity, they have agreed that episcopacy is a very ancient and desirable form of Church polity.
4. We confess as proved by most certain warrants of Holy Scripture the historic faith of the undivided church as declared in the three Catholic Creeds: the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Athanasian.
5. Concerning the seven Councils of the undivided Church, we affirm the teaching of the first four Councils and the Christological clarifications of the fifth, sixth and seventh Councils, in so far as they are agreeable to the Holy Scriptures.
6. We receive The Book of Common Prayer as set forth by the Church of England in 1662, together with the Ordinal attached to the same, as a standard for Anglican doctrine and discipline, and, with the Books which preceded it, as the standard for the Anglican tradition of worship.
7. We receive the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion of 1562, taken in their literal and grammatical sense, as expressing the Anglican response to certain doctrinal issues controverted at that time, and as expressing fundamental principles of authentic Anglican belief.
8. We affirm the Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON) Statement and Jerusalem Declaration issued 29 June 2008.
In all these things, the Anglican Church in North America is determined by the help of God to hold and maintain, as the Anglican Way has received them, the doctrine, discipline and worship of Christ and to transmit the same, unimpaired, to our posterity.
We seek to be and remain in full communion with all Anglican Churches, Dioceses and Provinces that hold and maintain the Historic Faith, Doctrine, Sacraments and Discipline of the one Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
ARTICLE III: THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
1. The mission of this church is so to present Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit that people everywhere will come to know Him as Lord and serve Him as King in the fellowship of the Church. The chief agents of this mission to extend the Kingdom of God are the people of God.
2. The work of the church is to equip each member of the Province so that they may reconcile the world to Christ, plant new congregations, and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything commanded by Jesus Christ.
3. The fundamental agency of mission in this church is the local congregation. As the local assembly of God’s people in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments are ministered with due order and discipline as ordained by Christ, the local congregation participates in God’s mission in the world, that is, to seek and save the lost. The primary role of the judicatory is support the local congregation in its missionary outreach and to mobilize the collective resources of the congregations of the judicatory to this end.
4. The church shall seek to represent its bishops, its clergy, and the members of its congregations in the councils of the Anglican Communion.
2. The work of the church is to equip each member of the Province so that they may reconcile the world to Christ, plant new congregations, and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything commanded by Jesus Christ.
3. The fundamental agency of mission in this church is the local congregation. As the local assembly of God’s people in which the pure Word of God is preached and the sacraments are ministered with due order and discipline as ordained by Christ, the local congregation participates in God’s mission in the world, that is, to seek and save the lost. The primary role of the judicatory is support the local congregation in its missionary outreach and to mobilize the collective resources of the congregations of the judicatory to this end.
4. The church shall seek to represent its bishops, its clergy, and the members of its congregations in the councils of the Anglican Communion.
ARTICLE III: MEMBERSHIP
1. The founding entities of the Anglican Church in North America are the members of the Common Cause Partnership namely:
The American Anglican Council
The Anglican Coalition in Canada
The Anglican Communion Network
The Anglican Mission in the Americas
The Anglican Network in Canada
The Convocation of Anglicans in North America
Forward in Faith – North America
The Missionary Convocation of Kenya
The Missionary Convocation of the Southern Cone
The Missionary Convocation of Uganda
The Reformed Episcopal Church
2. (1) New judicatories, by whatever names they may be designated, may be formed by groups of congregations and clergy on the basis of territory or theological affinity, and may be recognized as member judicatories of this church by the action of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedures as shall be delineated in the Canons of this church. Provided that any group of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church may appeal the decision of the Provincial Council in its case to the Provincial Assembly and the decision of the Provincial Assembly in the matter shall be final.
(2) All groups of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church must accede to the Constitution and Canons of this church before they may be recognized as a member judicatory of this church.
3. All judicatories shall have the right to adopt and amend their own constitution and canons provided the provisions of such constitution and canons are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Constitution every judicatory shall have the power and authority to elect its bishop or bishops, its synod, by whatever name such body is designated, and clerical and lay delegates to the Provincial Assembly. Any Canon or decision of the Provincial Tribunal abrogating or curtailing this power and authority shall be null and void.
4. Every judicatory shall be represented in the Provincial Assembly by its bishops and such clerical and lay delegates as provided by Canon.
5. The member judicatories of this church shall retain all power and authority that they do not delegate to this church under the provisions of this Constitution. The power and authority that is not assigned to the church by this Constitution shall be reserved to the judicatories of this church and may be exercised by each judicatory independently or in conjunction of one or more other judicatories.
6. The power and authority of a member judicatory to ordain both men and women to the diaconate and the presbyterate or to ordain men exclusively to the presbyterate or the diaconate and the presbyterate shall not be abrogated or curtailed by Canon or by decision of the Provincial Tribunal
7. Judicatories may form internal provinces and other voluntary associations for common mission and adopt and amend constitutions and to make canons and regulations for the government of such ecclesiastical bodies and the management of their affairs.
8. No member judicatory or internal province or other voluntary association of judicatories formed under the provisions of this Constitution shall be dissolved or merged with another member judicatory, internal province, or other voluntary association except with its own assent by action of its governing body
9. Member judicatories and internal provinces and other voluntary associations of judicatories formed under the provisions of this constitution may, at any time, withdraw from this church by action of their governing bodies.
The American Anglican Council
The Anglican Coalition in Canada
The Anglican Communion Network
The Anglican Mission in the Americas
The Anglican Network in Canada
The Convocation of Anglicans in North America
Forward in Faith – North America
The Missionary Convocation of Kenya
The Missionary Convocation of the Southern Cone
The Missionary Convocation of Uganda
The Reformed Episcopal Church
2. (1) New judicatories, by whatever names they may be designated, may be formed by groups of congregations and clergy on the basis of territory or theological affinity, and may be recognized as member judicatories of this church by the action of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedures as shall be delineated in the Canons of this church. Provided that any group of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church may appeal the decision of the Provincial Council in its case to the Provincial Assembly and the decision of the Provincial Assembly in the matter shall be final.
(2) All groups of congregations and clergy seeking recognition as a member judicatory of this church must accede to the Constitution and Canons of this church before they may be recognized as a member judicatory of this church.
3. All judicatories shall have the right to adopt and amend their own constitution and canons provided the provisions of such constitution and canons are not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Constitution every judicatory shall have the power and authority to elect its bishop or bishops, its synod, by whatever name such body is designated, and clerical and lay delegates to the Provincial Assembly. Any Canon or decision of the Provincial Tribunal abrogating or curtailing this power and authority shall be null and void.
4. Every judicatory shall be represented in the Provincial Assembly by its bishops and such clerical and lay delegates as provided by Canon.
5. The member judicatories of this church shall retain all power and authority that they do not delegate to this church under the provisions of this Constitution. The power and authority that is not assigned to the church by this Constitution shall be reserved to the judicatories of this church and may be exercised by each judicatory independently or in conjunction of one or more other judicatories.
6. The power and authority of a member judicatory to ordain both men and women to the diaconate and the presbyterate or to ordain men exclusively to the presbyterate or the diaconate and the presbyterate shall not be abrogated or curtailed by Canon or by decision of the Provincial Tribunal
7. Judicatories may form internal provinces and other voluntary associations for common mission and adopt and amend constitutions and to make canons and regulations for the government of such ecclesiastical bodies and the management of their affairs.
8. No member judicatory or internal province or other voluntary association of judicatories formed under the provisions of this Constitution shall be dissolved or merged with another member judicatory, internal province, or other voluntary association except with its own assent by action of its governing body
9. Member judicatories and internal provinces and other voluntary associations of judicatories formed under the provisions of this constitution may, at any time, withdraw from this church by action of their governing bodies.
ARTICLE IV. THE PROVINCIAL ASSEMBLY
1. The governing body of this church, hereinafter called the Provincial Assembly, shall consist of three houses, namely, the College of Bishops, the House of Clergy, and the House of Laity.
2. (1) The House of Clergy shall consist of clerical delegates from each judicatory, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.
(2) The House of Laity shall consist of lay delegates from each judicatory of this church, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon. Provided that there shall be twice as many lay delegates from each judicatory as there shall be clergy delegates from the same judicatory.
(3) The person who holds office as General Secretary or Treasurer of the Provincial Assembly shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Provincial Assembly and shall be entitled to propose motions and speak. However, unless such a person is otherwise a member of the Provincial Assembly, that person shall not be permitted to vote nor to be counted in a quorum.
3. The Provincial Assembly shall have power and authority:
(1) To make Canons and Regulations for the common life of the Anglican Church in North America in the following matters, that is, the faith and order of the church; the mission of the church; the nomination and election and the confirmation of the election of bishops of the church; the preferment, trial, suspension and removal of bishops and other clergy; the worship of the church; the training, ordination, licensing, and continuing development of clergy; clergy support and discipline; ecumenical and interfaith relations; marriage, divorce, and remarriage; and the proper administration of the church
(2) To determine the composition of the Provincial Council, to elect the members of the Council, to fix the term of office of members of the Council, and to fill casual vacancies in the Council,
(3) To issue Directives to the Provincial Council, to require reports from the Council, and to approve or disapprove the actions of the Council.
(4) To regulate the conduct of its business under Standing Orders or otherwise as it may deem proper.
(5) To appoint a General Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other Officers of the Provincial Assembly as it may deem necessary.
(6) To appoint committees, boards, commissions, and task forces.
(7) To censure members and officers of the Provincial Assembly, members and officers of the Provincial Council, and members and officers of other committees, boards, commissions, and task forces, to suspend them for reasonable cause, and to remove them from office if and when it deems that their removal is warranted.
(8) To adopt and revise the budget of the church and to approve and modify its program.
(9) To levy assessments on the judicatories of this church, to determine the method of calculating such assessments and their apportionment between the several judicatories, to suspend a judicatory from membership in the church for non-payment of such assessments, and to revoke the suspension of a judicatory upon payment of arrears.
4. (1) The House of Clergy shall consist of clerical delegates from each judicatory, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.
(2) The House of Laity shall consist of lay delegates from each judicatory of this church, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon. Provided that there shall be twice as many lay delegates from each judicatory as there shall be clergy delegates from the same judicatory.
(3) The person who holds office as General Secretary or Treasurer of the Provincial Assembly shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Provincial Assembly and shall be entitled to propose motions and speak. However, unless such a person is otherwise a member of the Provincial Assembly, that person shall not be permitted to vote nor to be counted in a quorum.
5. At each session of the Provincial Assembly the House of Clergy and the House of Laity shall elect its own President and such other Officers as it considers necessary.
6. (1) Ordinary sessions of the Provincial Assembly shall be held at intervals not exceeding two years, and at such time and place as the Provincial Assembly may by resolution appoint or failing any such resolution then as the Provincial Council may by resolution appoint.
(2) A special session of the Provincial Assembly shall be convened by the Archbishop at the request in writing of not less than one-half of the members of the College of Bishops or of one-third of the members of the House of Clergy or of one-third of the members of the House of Laity or upon a resolution of the Provincial Council.
(3) At least four months before an ordinary or special session of the Provincial Assembly the Archbishop shall by written instrument signed by him summon the bishops of the several judicatories of this church, and require them to convene the prescribed number of clerical and lay delegates at the appointed time and place.
2. (1) The House of Clergy shall consist of clerical delegates from each judicatory, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.
(2) The House of Laity shall consist of lay delegates from each judicatory of this church, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon. Provided that there shall be twice as many lay delegates from each judicatory as there shall be clergy delegates from the same judicatory.
(3) The person who holds office as General Secretary or Treasurer of the Provincial Assembly shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Provincial Assembly and shall be entitled to propose motions and speak. However, unless such a person is otherwise a member of the Provincial Assembly, that person shall not be permitted to vote nor to be counted in a quorum.
3. The Provincial Assembly shall have power and authority:
(1) To make Canons and Regulations for the common life of the Anglican Church in North America in the following matters, that is, the faith and order of the church; the mission of the church; the nomination and election and the confirmation of the election of bishops of the church; the preferment, trial, suspension and removal of bishops and other clergy; the worship of the church; the training, ordination, licensing, and continuing development of clergy; clergy support and discipline; ecumenical and interfaith relations; marriage, divorce, and remarriage; and the proper administration of the church
(2) To determine the composition of the Provincial Council, to elect the members of the Council, to fix the term of office of members of the Council, and to fill casual vacancies in the Council,
(3) To issue Directives to the Provincial Council, to require reports from the Council, and to approve or disapprove the actions of the Council.
(4) To regulate the conduct of its business under Standing Orders or otherwise as it may deem proper.
(5) To appoint a General Secretary, a Treasurer, and such other Officers of the Provincial Assembly as it may deem necessary.
(6) To appoint committees, boards, commissions, and task forces.
(7) To censure members and officers of the Provincial Assembly, members and officers of the Provincial Council, and members and officers of other committees, boards, commissions, and task forces, to suspend them for reasonable cause, and to remove them from office if and when it deems that their removal is warranted.
(8) To adopt and revise the budget of the church and to approve and modify its program.
(9) To levy assessments on the judicatories of this church, to determine the method of calculating such assessments and their apportionment between the several judicatories, to suspend a judicatory from membership in the church for non-payment of such assessments, and to revoke the suspension of a judicatory upon payment of arrears.
4. (1) The House of Clergy shall consist of clerical delegates from each judicatory, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon.
(2) The House of Laity shall consist of lay delegates from each judicatory of this church, the number of which, the manner of their election, their qualifications, their term of office, their eligibility for re-election, and the manner in which casual vacancies in their number are filled shall be prescribed by Canon. Provided that there shall be twice as many lay delegates from each judicatory as there shall be clergy delegates from the same judicatory.
(3) The person who holds office as General Secretary or Treasurer of the Provincial Assembly shall be entitled to attend the meetings of the Provincial Assembly and shall be entitled to propose motions and speak. However, unless such a person is otherwise a member of the Provincial Assembly, that person shall not be permitted to vote nor to be counted in a quorum.
5. At each session of the Provincial Assembly the House of Clergy and the House of Laity shall elect its own President and such other Officers as it considers necessary.
6. (1) Ordinary sessions of the Provincial Assembly shall be held at intervals not exceeding two years, and at such time and place as the Provincial Assembly may by resolution appoint or failing any such resolution then as the Provincial Council may by resolution appoint.
(2) A special session of the Provincial Assembly shall be convened by the Archbishop at the request in writing of not less than one-half of the members of the College of Bishops or of one-third of the members of the House of Clergy or of one-third of the members of the House of Laity or upon a resolution of the Provincial Council.
(3) At least four months before an ordinary or special session of the Provincial Assembly the Archbishop shall by written instrument signed by him summon the bishops of the several judicatories of this church, and require them to convene the prescribed number of clerical and lay delegates at the appointed time and place.
ARTICLE V THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL
1. There shall be a Provincial Council which shall be elected by the Provincial Assembly and shall be accountable to the Provincial Assembly and subject to its direction and control.
2. (1) The Provincial Council shall be the executive body of the Provincial Assembly and shall carryout the work of the Provincial Assembly between the sessions of the Provincial Assembly.
(2) The Provincial Council shall exercise such duties, functions, and powers as prescribed by the Constitution and Canons of this Church and the Regulation and Directive of the Provincial Assembly except that the Provincial Council shall have no power or authority to make Canons and Regulations of this Church or to amend, alter, add to, or repeal the provisions of the Constitution of this Church.
3. The Provincial Council shall be composed of such members as provided by Canon. The qualifications of the members of the Provincial Council, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, their eligibility for reelection or reappointment, and the manner in which casual vacancies in the Council are filled shall be prescribed by Canon
4. The Provincial Council may elect a Deputy President of the Provincial Council and such other Officers as it may deem necessary for the conduct of its business, and may employ such staff as may be authorized by the Regulations and Directives of the Provincial Assembly.
5. The Provincial Council shall meet at least three times in every year. At least fifteen days’ notice must be given for every meeting of the Provincial Council.
6. Special meetings of the Provincial Council may be convened by the President of the Provincial Council if and when he thinks fit and must be convened by the President of the Provincial Council at the request of one-third of the members of the Provincial Council. In the event the President of the Provincial Council fails to convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council within 30 days after such request is made, the members of the Provincial Council requesting a special meeting of the Provincial Council may convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council.
9. (1) The President of the Provincial Council shall, with the assistance of the Executive Committee of the Provincial Council and any staff of the Provincial Council employed under the provisions of this Constitution, be responsible for preparing the agenda for each meeting of the Provincial Council except that when members of the Provincial Council request or convene a special meeting under the provisions of Section 8, they shall be responsible for preparing the agenda of the special meeting, and the staff of the Provincial Council shall provide them with such assistance as they may require. The agenda for a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be stated in the notice of the meeting and the business transacted at a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be confined to the items on such agenda.
(2) All members of the Provincial Council shall have the right to have items of business placed on the agenda of a regular meeting of the Provincial Council for consideration.
10. The Provincial Council shall have an Executive Committee, the membership of which, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, and manner in which casual vacancies in the Executive Committee are filled shall, together with the duties of the Executive Committee, be prescribed by Canon.
2. (1) The Provincial Council shall be the executive body of the Provincial Assembly and shall carryout the work of the Provincial Assembly between the sessions of the Provincial Assembly.
(2) The Provincial Council shall exercise such duties, functions, and powers as prescribed by the Constitution and Canons of this Church and the Regulation and Directive of the Provincial Assembly except that the Provincial Council shall have no power or authority to make Canons and Regulations of this Church or to amend, alter, add to, or repeal the provisions of the Constitution of this Church.
3. The Provincial Council shall be composed of such members as provided by Canon. The qualifications of the members of the Provincial Council, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, their eligibility for reelection or reappointment, and the manner in which casual vacancies in the Council are filled shall be prescribed by Canon
4. The Provincial Council may elect a Deputy President of the Provincial Council and such other Officers as it may deem necessary for the conduct of its business, and may employ such staff as may be authorized by the Regulations and Directives of the Provincial Assembly.
5. The Provincial Council shall meet at least three times in every year. At least fifteen days’ notice must be given for every meeting of the Provincial Council.
6. Special meetings of the Provincial Council may be convened by the President of the Provincial Council if and when he thinks fit and must be convened by the President of the Provincial Council at the request of one-third of the members of the Provincial Council. In the event the President of the Provincial Council fails to convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council within 30 days after such request is made, the members of the Provincial Council requesting a special meeting of the Provincial Council may convene a special meeting of the Provincial Council.
9. (1) The President of the Provincial Council shall, with the assistance of the Executive Committee of the Provincial Council and any staff of the Provincial Council employed under the provisions of this Constitution, be responsible for preparing the agenda for each meeting of the Provincial Council except that when members of the Provincial Council request or convene a special meeting under the provisions of Section 8, they shall be responsible for preparing the agenda of the special meeting, and the staff of the Provincial Council shall provide them with such assistance as they may require. The agenda for a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be stated in the notice of the meeting and the business transacted at a special meeting of the Provincial Council shall be confined to the items on such agenda.
(2) All members of the Provincial Council shall have the right to have items of business placed on the agenda of a regular meeting of the Provincial Council for consideration.
10. The Provincial Council shall have an Executive Committee, the membership of which, the manner of their election or appointment, their term of office, and manner in which casual vacancies in the Executive Committee are filled shall, together with the duties of the Executive Committee, be prescribed by Canon.
ARTICLE VI: THE ARCHBISHOP
1. There shall be an Archbishop of this church who shall be known by the style and title of the Archbishop and Primate of the Anglican Church in North America, herein referred to as the Archbishop.
2. The Archbishop shall be a member of the College of Bishops in good standing.
3. The Archbishop shall be elected in such manner as shall be prescribed by Canon. The Archbishop shall hold office for a term of five years or until his successor is elected. The Archbishop may be reelected for one additional term of five years provided that no Archbishop may serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of 72.
4. During any vacancy in the office or incapacity of the Archbishop or during his absence from North America for a period exceeding thirty days, the authorities, powers, rights, and duties of the Archbishop under this Constitution shall be exercised by the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church, is at the time in North America, and is able and willing to act. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
5. The Archbishop shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, convene the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, the Provincial Council, and the College of Bishops.
6. The Archbishop shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and
the President of the College of Bishops. In the absence of the Archbishop
the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a
judicatory of the church and who is present, willing, and able to act shall
be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the College of Bishops.
Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
The Archbishop or in his absence the Deputy President of the Provincial
Council shall be the President of the Provincial Council. In the absence
of both the Archbishop and the Deputy President the Provincial Council
shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson of the meeting.
2. The Archbishop shall be a member of the College of Bishops in good standing.
3. The Archbishop shall be elected in such manner as shall be prescribed by Canon. The Archbishop shall hold office for a term of five years or until his successor is elected. The Archbishop may be reelected for one additional term of five years provided that no Archbishop may serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of 72.
4. During any vacancy in the office or incapacity of the Archbishop or during his absence from North America for a period exceeding thirty days, the authorities, powers, rights, and duties of the Archbishop under this Constitution shall be exercised by the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a judicatory of the church, is at the time in North America, and is able and willing to act. Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
5. The Archbishop shall, subject to the provisions of this Constitution, convene the meetings of the Provincial Assembly, the Provincial Council, and the College of Bishops.
6. The Archbishop shall be the President of the Provincial Assembly and
the President of the College of Bishops. In the absence of the Archbishop
the senior bishop of this church who is a bishop ordinary of a
judicatory of the church and who is present, willing, and able to act shall
be the President of the Provincial Assembly and the College of Bishops.
Seniority in every case shall be determined by the date of consecration.
The Archbishop or in his absence the Deputy President of the Provincial
Council shall be the President of the Provincial Council. In the absence
of both the Archbishop and the Deputy President the Provincial Council
shall elect one of its members to serve as chairperson of the meeting.
ARTICLE VII: THE COLLEGE OF BISHOPS
1. The chief work of the College of Bishops shall be to propagate and defend the faith and order of the church and to serve as the visible sign and expression of the unity of the church.
2. The members of the College of Bishops may apart from their meetings as a College of Bishops of the Provincial Assembly meet with such frequency as may serve the chief work of the College of Bishops. Such meetings shall be convened by the Archbishop on his own initiative or at the request in writing of the Provincial Council or not less than one-third of the bishops, and shall have power to regulate their own business.
3. A judicatory shall report the election of a bishop-elect of the judicatory to the Archbishop in order to obtain the confirmation of the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall be set forth in the Canons. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council fail to confirm the election of a bishop elect of a judicatory, the judicatory may request that the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council reconsider their decision. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council do not reverse their decision and confirm the election of the bishop elect of a judicatory, the election shall be null and void and the election procedure must be repeated as if the see had become vacant at the time that the election became null and void.
4. If the synod of a judicatory, by whatever name such body is designated, fails on three separate occasions to elect a bishop, the synod may, either absolutely or subject to any such conditions it may think fit to impose, delegate its power and authority to elect a bishop to the members of the Provincial Council, and the election shall be made by the members of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall set forth in the Canons. The Archbishop or the Deputy President of the Provincial Council shall report the results of the election to the College of Bishops which shall proceed with the confirmation of the election in accordance with the same procedure for the confirmation of an election made by the synod of a judicatory. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the synod of a judicatory from rescinding such delegation of its power and authority and subsequently electing a bishop.
2. The members of the College of Bishops may apart from their meetings as a College of Bishops of the Provincial Assembly meet with such frequency as may serve the chief work of the College of Bishops. Such meetings shall be convened by the Archbishop on his own initiative or at the request in writing of the Provincial Council or not less than one-third of the bishops, and shall have power to regulate their own business.
3. A judicatory shall report the election of a bishop-elect of the judicatory to the Archbishop in order to obtain the confirmation of the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall be set forth in the Canons. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council fail to confirm the election of a bishop elect of a judicatory, the judicatory may request that the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council reconsider their decision. If the College of Bishops and the Provincial Council do not reverse their decision and confirm the election of the bishop elect of a judicatory, the election shall be null and void and the election procedure must be repeated as if the see had become vacant at the time that the election became null and void.
4. If the synod of a judicatory, by whatever name such body is designated, fails on three separate occasions to elect a bishop, the synod may, either absolutely or subject to any such conditions it may think fit to impose, delegate its power and authority to elect a bishop to the members of the Provincial Council, and the election shall be made by the members of the Provincial Council in accordance with such procedure as shall set forth in the Canons. The Archbishop or the Deputy President of the Provincial Council shall report the results of the election to the College of Bishops which shall proceed with the confirmation of the election in accordance with the same procedure for the confirmation of an election made by the synod of a judicatory. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the synod of a judicatory from rescinding such delegation of its power and authority and subsequently electing a bishop.
ARTICLE VIII: THE PROVINCIAL TRIBUNAL
1. There shall be an ecclesiastical court of last resort to be know as the Provincial Tribunal consisting of seven members, three of whom shall be bishops ordinary of the several judicatories of this church and four whom shall be laypersons.
2. The members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be appointed by the Provincial Assembly as follows, that is to say, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the College of Bishops, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the House of Clergy and a bishop and two laypersons on the nomination of the House of Laity.
3. A president and deputy president shall as often as may be necessary be chosen from among the lay members of the Provincial Tribunal by the College of Bishops, or, if the Provincial Assembly is not in session, by a meeting of the members of the College of Bishops.
4. The qualifications of lay members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon.
5. The term of office of members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
Vacancies in the membership of the Provincial Tribunal shall occur and be filled in such manner, as may be prescribed by or under Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
6. The Provincial Tribunal shall have jurisdiction:
(1) To hear and determine disputes over the meaning of the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church.
(2) To hear and determine appeals from any determination any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church and any determination of any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the canons of the a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church.
(3) To hear and determine such other matters as may be authorized by Canon.
7. Any person who brings a charge before any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church or any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the aforesaid canons if dissatisfied with its determination or recommendation and any person so charged if dissatisfied with the recommendation or sentence pronounced upon such recommendation may institute an appeal to the Provincial Tribunal in accordance with such procedure as shall be prescribed by Canon.
8. The decision of the Provincial Tribunal shall be final in all matters brought before the Provincial Tribunal.
2. The members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be appointed by the Provincial Assembly as follows, that is to say, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the College of Bishops, a bishop and a layperson on the nomination of the House of Clergy and a bishop and two laypersons on the nomination of the House of Laity.
3. A president and deputy president shall as often as may be necessary be chosen from among the lay members of the Provincial Tribunal by the College of Bishops, or, if the Provincial Assembly is not in session, by a meeting of the members of the College of Bishops.
4. The qualifications of lay members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon.
5. The term of office of members of the Provincial Tribunal shall be prescribed by Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
Vacancies in the membership of the Provincial Tribunal shall occur and be filled in such manner, as may be prescribed by or under Canon of the Provincial Assembly.
6. The Provincial Tribunal shall have jurisdiction:
(1) To hear and determine disputes over the meaning of the provisions of the Constitution and Canons of this church.
(2) To hear and determine appeals from any determination any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church and any determination of any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the canons of the a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church.
(3) To hear and determine such other matters as may be authorized by Canon.
7. Any person who brings a charge before any tribunal or ecclesiastical court established under the canons of a judicatory of this church or the Canons of this church or any disciplinary proceeding conducted in accordance with the aforesaid canons if dissatisfied with its determination or recommendation and any person so charged if dissatisfied with the recommendation or sentence pronounced upon such recommendation may institute an appeal to the Provincial Tribunal in accordance with such procedure as shall be prescribed by Canon.
8. The decision of the Provincial Tribunal shall be final in all matters brought before the Provincial Tribunal.
ARTICLE IX: OWNERSHIP OF CHURCH PROPERTY
1. Legal title to all property utilized by local congregations shall be indefeasibly vested in the local congregation, or in a corporation owned and controlled by the local congregation, or in one or more trustees that are appointed or elected by the local congregation and hold the local church property in trust for the benefit of the local congregation. A local congregation may dispose of its property as it determines, subject to any self-accepted indebtedness or other self-accepted restrictions.
2. Legal title to any local church property held in trust on behalf of a local congregation by a judicatory shall be transferred to the local congregation within one year of the adoption of this Constitution.
3. Every local congregation shall have full power to take care of and administer its local church property and shall be bound to do so out of its own funds.
4. Legal title to the undisposed property of a local congregation that disbands or ceases to exist shall pass to the judicatory of this church to which the local congregation belongs except when the local congregation has made other provisions consistent with Canadian or United States laws affecting not-for-profit corporations in its articles of incorporation, constitution, or bylaws.
5. Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or curtail the right of this church or a judicatory thereof to own, hold, manage, and convey property in its own name for the purpose of carrying out ecclesiastical programs.
2. Legal title to any local church property held in trust on behalf of a local congregation by a judicatory shall be transferred to the local congregation within one year of the adoption of this Constitution.
3. Every local congregation shall have full power to take care of and administer its local church property and shall be bound to do so out of its own funds.
4. Legal title to the undisposed property of a local congregation that disbands or ceases to exist shall pass to the judicatory of this church to which the local congregation belongs except when the local congregation has made other provisions consistent with Canadian or United States laws affecting not-for-profit corporations in its articles of incorporation, constitution, or bylaws.
5. Nothing in this article shall be construed to abrogate or curtail the right of this church or a judicatory thereof to own, hold, manage, and convey property in its own name for the purpose of carrying out ecclesiastical programs.
ARTICLE X: FINANCES
1. Every congregation shall control its own finances and shall hold and administer its own funds, movable property and trusts and shall have full power to invest, sell, donate, alienate, administer and otherwise deal in any manner whatsoever at its discretion with such funds, movable property and trusts: provided that all terms and conditions under which the funds, property and trusts are held or subject to which they were donated or acquired shall be complied with.
2. Each judicatory of this church shall be responsible for its share of the costs, charges, and expenses associated with the operation of this church as prescribed by Canon.
2. Each judicatory of this church shall be responsible for its share of the costs, charges, and expenses associated with the operation of this church as prescribed by Canon.
ARTICLE XI: SUSPENSION AND
EXPULSION FROM MEMBERSHIP
EXPULSION FROM MEMBERSHIP
1. A judicatory may, by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly, be suspended from membership in this church for up to six years for such offenses as the Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by Canon.
Provided that any Canon prescribing an offense or offenses for which a judicatory may be suspended from membership in this church must be ratified by all the judicatories of the church before it shall be in force.
2. The Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by resolution what corrective actions the suspended judicatory must take during the period of suspension in order to be restored to membership in the church.
3. At the conclusion of the period of suspension the Provincial Assembly may by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly restore the suspended judicatory to membership in the church if the Provincial Assembly is satisfied that the suspended judicatory has in good faith taken the prescribed corrective actions.
4. The Provincial Assembly may by vote of two-thirds of the members of each house, expel from membership in this church a judicatory suspended under the provisions of this section that has, upon completion of the period of suspension or an additional period of suspension, failed to take the prescribed corrective actions.
Provided that any Canon prescribing an offense or offenses for which a judicatory may be suspended from membership in this church must be ratified by all the judicatories of the church before it shall be in force.
2. The Provincial Assembly shall prescribe by resolution what corrective actions the suspended judicatory must take during the period of suspension in order to be restored to membership in the church.
3. At the conclusion of the period of suspension the Provincial Assembly may by a vote of majority of the members of each house of the Provincial Assembly restore the suspended judicatory to membership in the church if the Provincial Assembly is satisfied that the suspended judicatory has in good faith taken the prescribed corrective actions.
4. The Provincial Assembly may by vote of two-thirds of the members of each house, expel from membership in this church a judicatory suspended under the provisions of this section that has, upon completion of the period of suspension or an additional period of suspension, failed to take the prescribed corrective actions.
ARTICLE XII: AMENDMENT OR ALTERATION
OF THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE CONSTITUTION
The provisions of this Constitution may be amended, altered, added to, or repealed by the Provincial Assembly by two-thirds of the members present and voting at a regular session of the Provincial Assembly or a special session of the Provincial Assembly called for purpose of amending, altering, adding to, or repealing provisions of the Constitution. A copy of the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal shall be sent to each member of the Provincial Assembly and to the standing committee or equivalent of the synod of each judicatory not less than thirty days before the first day of the session of the Provincial Assembly at which the proposed amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal is to be presented. No amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal of the provisions of this Constitution shall become effective less than ninety days after the session of the Provincial Assembly at which such amendment, alteration, addition, or repeal was adopted.
Founding documents require careful scrutiny and deliberation of their contents because in time these will serve as historical precedents.
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