Introducing the Church of England

The General Synod

The Church of England
COMMUNICATIONS UNIT

Every large, active group of people needs some sort of committee to discuss important questions and take major decisions on behalf of all its members. Britain has Parliament; towns and cities have their councils; and the Church of England has the General Synod.

It was set up in 1970 so that everyone bishops, clergy and laity could share in governing their Church of England.

Who are the members?

General Synod is elected every five years by a system of proportional representation. It is made up of the three Houses of Bishops, Clergy and Laity.

The House of Bishops includes all the diocesan bishops (44) plus nine suffragan bishops elected by the other suffragans. Members of the House of Clergy are elected by the clergy of their dioceses and the House of Laity is elected by the lay people in the deanery synods.

There are about 260 members in each of the Houses of Clergy and Laity at any time. Chaplains in the armed forces, prisons and universities, as well as members of religious communities, are also represented. The whole Synod numbers 574.

The Houses of Bishops and Clergy are actually a combination of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the historic councils of the ordained members of the Church. Only when the Queen calls together the Convocations can the House of Laity join them to form the General Synod. It is officially opened by the Queen every five years.

Twice a year, the General Synod gathers for four or five days. In November, the Synod meets at Church House in London and, in July, residentially at York University. Staying on campus at a university allows members to meet more informally and get to know each other better. A day is set aside each February in case an extra meeting is needed.

What can the Synod do?

The General Synod is unique. It is the only group of people to whom Parliament has given power to pass Measures which become English law.

In 1919, the Church Assembly, which became the General Synod in 1970, was given the power to prepare legislation about any matter to do with the Church of England. If Parliament accepts such Measures, they become part of the law of the land.

If the MPs or the Lords are not happy with a Measure, they cannot change it but they can reject it. The General Synod is allowed to present it again. All Measures must be given Royal Assent by the Queen.

For some internal matters, mainly to do with the work of the clergy, the Synod can legislate without the approval of Parliament. These church laws are called Canons and are submitted to the Queen, through the Home Secretary, for Royal Assent.

Three main functions

All the work of the General Synod is done on behalf of the Church. It comes under three main headings.

Central church business
Setting the rules and regulations of the Church is the primary task of the General Synod. This legislative work covers many areas of church life from difficult decisions about the ordination of women to more routine matters like the retirement age for clergy or the fees for church weddings.
Because of the close links and the need for Royal Assent, the Synod follows very similar procedures to Parliament. All legislation goes through at least three stages: General Approval, when the whole Synod debates what is proposed and votes whether to continue with it; Revision by a committee to take account of amendments proposed by Synod members; and Final Approval by the whole Synod.
The Measure then goes to the Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament. This group of MPs and Peers decides whether or not it is expedient, that is suitable and appropriate, before it is formally laid before Parliament. After debate in both the Commons and the Lords, the Measure goes to the Queen for Royal Assent.
Most legislation needs a simple majority vote in the General Synod. For some, the three Houses vote separately and all three must pass the legislation or it is lost. More important matters can require a higher majority than 50%.
Relations with other Churches
The Churches in Britain and abroad often work together. If the Church of England decided to go further and be part of some special arrangement or unity scheme with another Church, it would have to go through the Synod. This would have to pass in all three Houses, usually by a special majority.
Public issues
The Church is naturally interested in the effects of politics and current affairs on the physical and spiritual wellbeing of people in Britain and overseas.
Subjects from education and unemployment to health, social and racial justice and the stability of family life are of concern to Christians. The Government takes note of what the Church of England and other Churches say in their national synods and assemblies.
In recent years, the General Synod has debated, for example, homelessness, the coal industry, the future of the BBC, the plight of street children in South America and the effects of Sunday trading.
Such debates are usually supported by well-researched reports produced by one of the departments in Church House or are on a motion from a diocese or a private member. The debates demonstrate the high level of expertise among Synod members on almost any subject.
Motions passed by the General Synod, together with the voting figures, are conveyed straight to the government department concerned.

Church House, Westminster

There is a lot more to the General Synod than just its meetings twice a year. In between, there are meetings of the House of Bishops (which has particular responsibilities in matters of doctrine, liturgy and the selection, training and deployment of clergy and accredited lay workers), the Standing Committee and the Policy Committee.

The reports to be debated must be researched and written, planning requested by the General Synod has to be done, ecumenical work with other Churches continues. Consultations with dioceses and parishes are arranged and negotiations with government departments carried out. The selection of candidates for training for the priesthood goes on all year through the Advisory Board of Ministry.

Specialist departments at Church House service the Synod in areas such as education, mission, social responsibility, unity, hospital chaplaincies and the care of churches. There is also the Central Board of Finance, legal staff, Church House Publishing and the General Synod Office, which administers the Synod and other Church bodies.

Dioceses and Deaneries

Just as the Church of England has its 'national government', so its dioceses need a form of local government. Diocesan synods usually meet three times a year and, again, have the three houses of bishops, clergy and laity.

They discuss diocesan business and local concerns, as well as sending forward motions for the General Synod to debate. In return, they debate important issues passed to them by the General Synod, which often wants the views of the dioceses before voting on major legislation.

Similarly, every deanery (local group of churches) has its own synod. All the clergy belong to it, while the lay members are elected by the people in the parishes. As well as discussing local and national issues, they can send motions to the diocesan synod.

Members of deanery synods vote to elect their diocesan synod every three years and the General Synod every five. This way, every member of the Church has a role in electing the General Synod.

How the Synod came about

The medieval Church of England was run by the bishops and some clergy in legislative assemblies called the Convocations of Canterbury and York. Their powers were limited at the Reformation by Henry VIII and successive sovereigns.

For 300 years after the Reformation, Parliament and the bishops effectively governed the Church. Since the 1850s, the Church has been gradually recovering self-government.

From 1920 to 1970, there was a dual system of government. The Convocations dealt with spiritual matters like doctrine, theology and liturgy. A Church Assembly, made up of the Convocations plus a House of Laity, dealt with the Church's practical and financial business. Parliament delegated some of its own power in Church affairs to the Assembly, including the right to legislate by Measure subject to Parliamentary approval and Royal Assent.

In 1970, the General Synod brought together in one body the powers of the Convocations and the Church Assembly. Since then, the whole Church has been able to take part in a system of government stretching from the parishes, through deanery and diocesan synods to the national assembly of the General Synod.

This is one of a range of leaflets available explaining the working and beliefs of the Church of England
Edited by Steve Jenkins
Published by the Communications Unit
General Synod of the Church of England
Church House, Gt Smith Street, London SW1P 3NZ

The General Synod

The Church of England COMMUNICATIONS UNIT