The Church Representation Rules (Amendment) Resolution 1973

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Resolution of the General Synod of the Church of England, which was passed in accordance with section 7(1) of the Synodical Government Measure 1969, makes a number of miscellaneous amendments of the Church Representation Rules contained in Schedule 3 to that Measure. The principal changes are:

• 1. The requirement that a person who wishes to have his name entered on the electoral roll of a parish must declare that he is not a member of any religious body which is not in communion with the Church of England is abolished (paragraph 1(1) and Schedule).

• 2. The provisions relating to entry of a person's name on the electoral roll of two or more parishes have been simplified and clarified (paragraph 1(2)).

• 3. Provision is made to ensure that entry on the roll of a guild church is equivalent to entry on the roll of the parish in which the guild church is for the purpose of qualification for election to a deanery or diocesan synod or the House of Laity of the General Synod (paragraph 5).

• 4. Provision is made for additional members of the House of Laity of a deanery synod to represent communities of persons in the deanery who are in the spiritual care of a chaplain licensed by the bishop (paragraph 11(1)(c)).

• 5. The duties to be undertaken by presiding officers in connection with elections to the House of Laity of the General Synod are to be defined and provision is made for fixing the fees to be paid for the performance of such duties (paragraph 22).

• 6. The number of cases in which it will be necessary to hold an election to fill a casual vacancy among the elected members of a deanery or diocesan synod or the House of Laity of the General Synod is reduced (paragraphs 25(2) and 27).

• 7. The functions of an archbishop or diocesan bishop under the rules will, during a vacancy, be exercisable by the other archbishop or, in the case of a vacancy in a bishopric, by a person in episcopal orders appointed by the archbishop of the province and not (in either case) by the guardian of the spiritualities; and provision is made for the case where by reason of illness an archbishop or a diocesan bishop is unable to exercise his functions under the rules (paragraph 29).