General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada
Encyclopedia
General Synod
-Church of England:In the Church of England, the General Synod, which was established in 1970 , is the legislative body of the Church.-Episcopal Church of the United States:...
of the Anglican Church of Canada is the chief governing and legislative body of the Anglican Church of Canada
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
(ACC), the sole Canadian representative of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
. The first General Synod session was held in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
in 1893, with the proviso that the parameters of its authority would not undermine the local independence of diocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s.
Composition and responsibilities
Except in special instances when it may be called into session by the Primate of the Anglican Church of CanadaPrimate of the Anglican Church of Canada
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada is elected by the General Synod of the Church from among a list of five bishops nominated by the House of Bishops...
or the Council of General Synod, the General Synod meets triennially at locations across Canada. The Synod next meets in 2010 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Other recent locales for General Synod have been:
- 2007: Winnipeg, Manitoba
- 2004: St. Catharines, OntarioSt. Catharines, OntarioSt. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...
- 2001: Waterloo, OntarioWaterloo, OntarioWaterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
- 1998: Montreal, Quebec
- 1995: Ottawa, Ontario
The General Synod is composed of three Orders: Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s, Clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
, and Laity
Laity
In religious organizations, the laity comprises all people who are not in the clergy. A person who is a member of a religious order who is not ordained legitimate clergy is considered as a member of the laity, even though they are members of a religious order .In the past in Christian cultures, the...
. All bishops and archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
s of the ACC are delegates to General Synod; clergy and lay delegates are elected as representatives from each of the church's thirty dioceses, as well as the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. Unlike the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
or the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, the Orders are not divided into Houses which meet separately according to different rules of order. Nonetheless, voting may be done by Orders with respect to certain issues, under which conditions a given Resolution would need to be approved in all three.
The General Synod is responsible for articulating the doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
, discipline, and worship
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
of the Anglican Church of Canada. During its regular meetings, which generally span a week to nine days, members exchange information, set policy for the church, pass resolutions, and enact and amend canon law
Canon law
Canon law is the body of laws & regulations made or adopted by ecclesiastical authority, for the government of the Christian organization and its members. It is the internal ecclesiastical law governing the Catholic Church , the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches, and the Anglican Communion of...
. Presently, there are twenty-one numbered canons, dealing with issues as prosaic as the name of the church, to ones touching on doctrine, such as matrimony and Holy Orders
Anglican ministry
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves...
, to judicial disciplinary proceedings.
Officers of General Synod and the Council of General Synod
General Synod elects three of the nine officers who maintain certain executive responsibilities at and between Synods. Of those, one - the Primate - holds office until he or she resigns, is removed, retires, or dies. The other officers, elected at each General Synod, are the ProlocutorProlocutor
A prolocutor is one who speaks for others ; specifically the chairman of the lower house of convocation in the two provinces of the Church of England, who presides in that house and acts as representative and spokesman in the upper house...
and the Deputy Prolocutor.
The Prolocutor acts as the chief deputy to the Primate, and the second executive officer of General Synod. As such, he chairs sessions of General Synod and meetings of the Council of General Synod in the absence of the Primate. The current Prolocutor is (lay) Canon Robert Falby; the Deputy Prolocutor is the Venerable Harry Huskins.
Council of General Synod
Between sessions of General Synod, the Council of General Synod (COGS) administers the affairs of the ACC. COGS is composed of the Primate, the Prolocutor, the Deputy Prolocutor, the Chancellor, and representatives from the three Orders from each of the four ecclesiastical provinces, chosen by the respective delegates at General Synod, the numbers of which vary according to a complicated electoral formula. COGS appoints four of the nine officers of General Synod:- The General SecretaryGeneral SecretaryThe office of general secretary is staffed by the chief officer of:*The General Secretariat for Macedonia and Thrace, a government agency for the Greek regions of Macedonia and Thrace...
- The TreasurerTreasurerA treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
- The ChancellorChancellor (ecclesiastical)Two quite distinct officials of some Christian churches have the title Chancellor.*In some churches, the Chancellor of a diocese is a lawyer who represents the church in legal matters....
- The Vice-Chancellor, if appointed
It also elects two Officers-at-large (one Clergy, one Laity).
Committees of General Synod
General Synod has six standing committees, consisting of members both elected at General Synod and appointed by the Primate:- Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee: Responsible for liturgicalLiturgyLiturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
issues; - Partners in Mission Committee: Responsible for relationships with Anglican and ecumenicalEcumenismEcumenism or oecumenism mainly refers to initiatives aimed at greater Christian unity or cooperation. It is used predominantly by and with reference to Christian denominations and Christian Churches separated by doctrine, history, and practice...
churches and organisations overseas; - Eco-Justice Committee: Responsible for social and environmental issues;
- Pension Committee: Responsible for clergy and staff pension administration;
- Financial Management and Development Committee: Responsible for the ACC's financial affairs;
- Communications and Information Resources Committee: Responsible for the communications and publications of the ACC, including the Anglican JournalAnglican JournalThe Anglican Journal is the national newspaper of the Anglican Church of Canada. Editorially independent, the Journal publishes news and opinion related to Anglicanism in Canada and abroad. It also contains an extensive arts and culture section, and classified advertising...
newspaper.
Important acts of recent General Synods
- 1995: General Synod approves the publication of a new hymnal, the first since 1971. It is published in 1998, under the title Common Praise.
- 2001: General Synod approves full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaEvangelical Lutheran Church in CanadaThe Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 152,788 baptized members in 624 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–Canada, having 72,116 baptized members...
, under the provisions of the Waterloo DeclarationWaterloo DeclarationThe Waterloo Declaration or Called to Full Communion is an accord reached in 2001 by the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It was reached in 2001 at the Anglican Church's General Synod which was held at the University of Waterloo.-External links:* at the...
. - 2004: Andrew HutchisonAndrew HutchisonAndrew Sandford Hutchison is a retired Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Prior to his election at the General Synod of 2004, he was the bishop of Montreal and metropolitan of the ecclesiastical province of Canada...
is elected twelfth Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Synod votes to affirm "the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships." - 2007: Fred HiltzFred HiltzFrederick James "Fred" Hiltz is the current Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada.Hiltz was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia where he was also raised. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree at Dalhousie University in 1975 and obtained his Master of Divinity degree at the Atlantic School of...
was elected the thirteenth primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Synod approved the "St. Michael Report", accepting that the blessing of same-sex unions is not a matter of "core doctrine" but rejected a motion that would have authorized dioceses to bless same-sex unions. The motion was passed by the clergy and laity, but was narrowly defeated by the House of Bishops. General Synod, however, approved a motion calling for "pastoral care" of same-sex couples and called on the Primate's Theological Commission to recommend changes to the Marriage Canon to permit the marriage of all couples entitled under Canadian civil law (thus including gays and lesbians).