Every person about to be ordained Priest or Deacon shall, before ordination, in the presence of the Bishop of whom he is to be ordained, and every person about to be licensed to any curacy, or to be instituted to any benefice or incumbency, shall before obtaining such license or being so instituted, make and subscribe the following Declarations and tale the following Oaths:
I, A.B., do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to Salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Anglican Catholic Church.
I, A.B., do willingly subscribe to and declare that I assent to, and will obey and abide by the Constitution and Canons which have been, or shall be, from time to time, passed by the Holy synod or the Provincial Synod, or the Synod of the Diocese (or other such jurisdiction) of
I, A.B., do swear that I will pay true and Canonical obedience to the [Lord] Bishop of ... and his Successors in all lawful and honest commands So help me God.
(This is said even if the ordaining Bishop is but the Episcopal Visitor. The oath is to the lawful Bishop of that Church and See or jurisdiction, and not to the Ordainer, unless he be such.)
These Declarations and Oaths shall be administered publicly during the services for the ordering of Deacons and Priests in the accustomed place after the Si Quis with such other Declarations and Oaths as are prescribed by Canon or in some other accustomed place in that Service.
Other Oaths may be prescribed by Diocesan or Provincial Synods where local conditions or circumstances so require. 1.06 Of Times when Reaffirmation of Oaths may Suffice.
In cases of the granting of a License to a Clergyman who has already in the same Diocese or other such jurisdiction signed the Declarations and taken the Oaths required for ordination, or institution, or both, or institution and collation to any Office, it shall suffice that the following be signed by the Licensee: "I hereby reaffirm the Declarations and Oaths which I have already made and taken in the Diocese of ..." or as the case may be.
Every person about to be ordained and consecrated Bishop shall before such ordination and consecration in the presence of his consecrators by whom he is about to be ordained and consecrated, and every person whose election to any Bishopric is to be confirmed, or who is to be translated, or to be instituted and invested to any Bishopric, or enthroned and installed, shall make and subscribe the following Declarations, and take the following Oaths at his ordination and consecration, institution, enthronement or translation as the case may be.
I, A.B., do believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of God, and to contain all things necessary to Salvation; and I do solemnly engage to conform to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Anglican Catholic Church.
I, A.B., do willingly subscribe and declare that I assent to, and will obey and abide by the Constitution and the Canons which have been or shall be, from time to time, passed by the Holy and Provincial Synods of the Anglican Catholic Church and the Synod of the Diocese (or other such jurisdiction) of N.
In the Name of God, Amen. I, N. , chosen Bishop of the Church and See of N., do profess and promise to hold and maintain the Doctrine, Sacraments, and Discipline of Christ, as the Lord hath commanded in his holy Word, and as the Anglican Catholic Church hath received and set forth the same; and I do promise all due reverence and obedience to the Metropolitan of N. and to his Successors. So help me God through Jesus Christ.
In the case of others than the Diocesan, the phrase "N., chosen Bishop of the Church and See of N." shall be omitted and replaced by "N., chosen Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of N." or "chosen Co-Adjutor or Assistant Bishop in the Diocese of N." or "chosen Bishop of the Missionary Diocese", or as the case may be.
Until the Metropolitan is chosen, the phrase "this Province when he shall be chosen" shall be used in place of the name (N.) of the Metropolitical See.
In the above forms, the full Christian and Surname of the Bishop-elect shall be used.
Other Oaths may be prescribed by Diocesan or Provincial Synods where local conditions or circumstances may so require.
These Declarations and Oaths shall be administered publicly during the services for the ordination and consecration of a Bishop, or the institution and investure to any Bishopric or the enthronement and installation of a Bishop, or of a Metropolitan, or of the Primate.
Before the enthronement and installation of every Diocesan Bishop or Bishop Ordinary already a Bishop, or before the enthronement and installation of every Metropolitan of a Province or Primate of this Church, such Bishop, Metropolitan, or Primate, as the case may be, shall be met at the entrance of the Church in that Service and be required to take this Oath to protect the rights, customs, liberties, and dignities of the Church in that place and of its Clergy and People as follows:
In the Name of God, Amen. We, A.B., by Divine Permission, [Lord] Bishop of the Church and See of (or [Lord] Archbishop of the Church and See of ... and Metropolitan of ... or [Lord] Archbishop of the Church and See of ..., Metropolitan of ..., and Primate of . , (as the case may be), do solemnly swear true faith and allegiance to the said Church (or Province or the Anglican Catholic Church, as the case may be), and that We will observe and protect the rights, customs, liberties, and dignities of the same and of its Clergy and People, and faithfully will defend them; So help Us God, and these Holy Gospels.
Every person whose election to any Metropolitical Office or Bishopric is to be confirmed, or who is to be ordained and consecrated Bishop, or translated to any other Bishopric, or to be ordained Priest or Deacon, or to be instituted and collated to any Deanery, Archdeaconry, or Canonry, or to be instituted and inducted or appointed to any benefice, incumbency, congregation, parish, or mission, or other Charge or Cure of Souls, or to serve in any place, shall first in the presence of the Metropolitan or Bishop by whom his election is to be confirmed, or in whose Province such Bishopric is situated, or by whom he is to be ordained, instituted, collated, inducted, or licensed, or before the Commissary of such Metropolitan or Bishop, make and subscribe this Declaration in the manner and form following, the same to be made by everyone whom it concerns in his own person, and not by proxy:
I, A.B., solemnly declare that I have not made, by myself or by any other person on my behalf, any payment, contract, or promise of any kind whatsoever which, to the best of my knowledge or belief, is simoniacal, touching or concerning the preferment of . . ., nor will I at any time hereafter perform or satisfy in whole or in part any such kind of payment, contract, or promise made by any other without my knowledge or consent.
A signed and witnessed copy of the above Declaration shall be preserved in the Journal of the Archbishop or Bishop before and in the presence of whom it was made and subscribed. If it is later found to have been made falsely, this document shall be considered sufficient grounds for Presentment and Trial of the person making this Declaration.
The same or similar Declaration shall also be required of all Clergy and Laity who are elected or appointed to any office or function in the Holy Synod, or any Province, Diocese or any other such jurisdiction, or congregation, parish or mission of this Church, and a signed and witnessed copy thereof shall be preserved in the records thereof for at least ten years.
Bishops ordained and consecrated as such in undoubted Catholic and Apostolic Churches not in formal or canonical Communion with this Church may be received as Bishops in this Church by the Metropolitan with the consent of two-thirds of the College of Bishops of that Province concerned.
No man shall be received as Bishop, Priest, or Deacon unless he meets respectively all the requirements for the ordination and consecration of Bishops or, as the case may be, for the ordination of Priests or of Deacons, or both, in this Church.
Those Clergy acceding to this Church from the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America or the Anglican Church of Canada, and who have been purportedly ordained according to the Proposed Book of Common Prayer of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, or in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States since September 16, 1976, for the avoiding of all scruples and doubts, shall be conditionally ordained in order positively to supply what possibly may be lacking.
Those acceding from the Anglican Church of Canada who were purportedly ordained since November 1, 1975, or who have been purportedly ordained prior to that date by rites other than those of the Book of Common Prayer, Canada, 1962, shall be also conditionally ordained as aforesaid.
The provisions of this Section shall apply to Clergy from those other parts of the Anglican Communion which have also departed from Catholic Faith and Order and who have been ordained since the time of such departure of their respective jurisdictions concerned.
All Priests and Deacons ordained as such in undoubted Catholic and Apostolic Churches may be received in their Orders by any Bishop Ordinary of this Church with the consent of his Council of Advice.
The defenselessness of the unborn entails a great responsibility on the part of every Christian, and especially on the part of each of his or her parents. The deliberate and wilful abortion, directly procured, of any unborn child at any time from the moment of conception, is always an art of grave sin not only by the person who procures the same, but also by such person or persons who effectuate the same or acquiesce therein.
The direct, deliberate, and wilful killing of that which is born of any woman, whether such child be deformed, defective, misformed, unformed, or otherwise misshapen or monstrous, is likewise murder, for however imperfect such child may be, even if difficult to recognize outwardly as a child, It may be assumed to be human and having a human soul, for it is the offspring of human parents. Such child should be baptised, if necessary sub conditione when it is still in the womb, and if it lives, such child should be again baptised conditionally, and ordinary means should be taken to preserve such child of life, nor shall it be licit to deprive such child of nourishment or take any other direct, deliberate, or wilful means to end or shorten the life thereof.
This Church reaffirms that it is the Lord Who is the Giver of Life, and that the wilful, intentional, and direct taking of any innocent human life is murder, whether disguised as "euthanasia", or mercy-killing," or under other name.
In keeping with traditional Catholic Moral Theology, it is licit to administer such drugs or treatment to the dying as to alleviate pain or to induce necessary sleep, all upon qualified and competent medical or nursing advice, but care must be taken to insure that the dying person is spiritually prepared before administering any such drugs or treatment, and that the direct purpose and intention thereof is not to shorten life. Moreover, there is no absolute need to prolong life indefinitely when, in the considered judgement or opinion of qualified and competent medical or nursing personnel, it has been despaired of, especially if the life in question be vegetal or otherwise lack vital signs of human reaction. In the latter case above all, extraordinary or heroic means need not be employed or continued to sustain life, but the natural processes may licitly be allowed to take their course.
Holy Church has universally upheld the sanctity of human life, and therefore this Church continues to condemn the wilful, intentional, and direct taking of innocent human life. Nevertheless such prohibition has never in Catholic Canon Law or Moral Theology disallowed, nor does this Church claim the power to disallow, the just exercise of the power of the Civil authority to "restrain with the civil sword all stubborn evil doers," but admits that it "beareth not the sword in vain, for [it] is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil" and St. Thomas Aquinas expressly says of capital punishment lawfully administered, "such killing is not murder", allowing as the just cause for capital punishment "of an evil-doer" the fact that "it is directed to the welfare of the whole community". This Church therefore recognizes the right of an individual to defend himself with such force as may be necessary, and the right of the state both to defend itself against individual malefactors by putting them to death for heinous and grievous offences, and against its enemies in a just war in defence of the state and as a last resort, in which war it is lawful for Christian men, at the command of the lawful authority of the civil power, to bear arms and serve.
This Church affirms, according to our Lord's teaching, that marriage is in its nature a union permanent and life-long, for better for worse, till death them do part, of one man with one woman, to the exclusion of all others on either side, for the procreation and nurture of children, for the hallowing and right direction of the natural instincts and affections, and
for the mutual society, help and comfort which the one ought to have of the other, both in prosperity and adversity, and to that end couples entering into that union shall make and subscribe before the Solemnization of Matrimony the following Declaration of Intention and Commitment to Holy Matrimony in the presence of the Officiating Clergyman and two witnesses:
DECLARATION OF INTENTION AND COMMITMENT TO HOLY MATRIMONY.
We, A.B. and C.D., desiring to receive the blessing of Holy Matrimony within the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, do solemnly declare:
That we hold and accept Holy Matrimony to be a mystical and lifelong union of husband and wife, as it is set forth in the Form of Solemnization of Matrimony in the Book of Common Prayer, and that this union forms an indissoluble Sacramental bond so long as we both shall live, which cannot be broken or dissolved by any action of civil authority;
That each of us is totally and unselfishly committed and bound to the other, calling continually upon the Grace of Almighty God and the power of the Holy Spirit to enable each of us, always and unconditionally, to extend to the other, joyfully and lovingly, the fellowship, support, encouragement, and understanding which is required for the fulfillment of the same;
That we know Holy Matrimony to be God's loving provision for the procreation (if it may be) and the gift and heritage of children, and for their physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual nurture and upbringing in God's faith and fear, and for the safeguarding and benefit of society;
That we bind ourselves mutually to cleave unto the oneness of the flesh that is the Will of God, vowing to refrain from any form 0£ sexual activity outside the bonds of this union;
That we are both jointly and individually committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, and we pledge ourselves unreservedly to seek His Will in all matters affecting our family life, to hold Him in our hearts as the Head and center of our family, and to call upon God the Holy Spirit to keep us in that obedience; and
That we do accept the Doctrine and Discipline of Holy Church in all things affecting our union, and do promise to seek the help and counsel of a Priest of the Church at any time when there is any threat to any aspect of our union, and before any action is taken that might cause irreparable or permanent damage to this relationship.
Dated: ________________________
Signed: _____________________
Witnessed: ____________________
Clergyman: ____________________
Every Clergyman of this Church shall conform to the civil laws governing the creation of the civil status of marriage, and also to the laws of this Church governing the solemnization of Holy Matrimony. He shall have instructed both parties as to the Church's Doctrine of Marriage and the nature, meaning, and purpose of Holy Matrimony, and the need of God's Grace in order that they may discharge aright their obligations as Married persons or shall have ascertained that they have both received such instruction from some other Clergymen of this Church known by him to be competent and responsible.
It shall be the duty and responsibility of every Clergyman of this Church before solemnizing any marriage, or when application is made to him for matrimony to be solemnized in the Church or Chapel of which he is the Minister or allowing such matrimony to be solemnized therein, to enquire diligently and to determine, with due pastoral care and consideration, the right of the parties to contract a marriage or the solemnization thereof according to the Discipline of the Church and the Laws Ecclesiastical, and these Canons, exercising care that none of the following impediments exist.
(a) Of Diriment Impediments or Impedimenta Dirimenta.
Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, the following in particular shall be deemed to be diriment impedimenta that if such exists or is present at the time of any purported marriage or has been placed or has obtained or existed before any such purported marriage and has not been removed or revoked or has ceased to exist by the time of such solemnization, they shall render such purported marriage wholly null and void ab initio:
(1) Consanguinity, whether of the whole or half blood, or of such other Kindred or Affinity as is contained in the following Table:
A man may not marry his
(a) Mother, (b) Step-mother, (c) Mother-in-law, (d) Daughter, (e) Step-daughter, (f) Daughter-in-law, (g) Sister, (h) Grandmother, (i) Grandfather's Wife, (j) Wife's Grandmother, (k) Grand-daughter, (1) Wife's Grand-daughter, (m) Grandson's Wife, (n) Aunt, (o) Niece;
A woman may not marry her
(a) Father, (b) Step-father, (c) Father-in-law, (d) Son, (e) Step-son, (f) Son-in-law, (g) Brother, (h) Grandfather, (i) Grandmother's Husband, (j) Husband's Grandfather, (k) Grandson, (1) Husband's Grandson, (m) Grand-daughter's Husband, (n) Uncle, (o) Nephew.
(2) Defective intention or conditional consent by either one or both parties by a positive act of the will to exclude the marriage itself or any right to the conjugal act or any essential property of marriage or any of the ends belonging to marriage or to frustrate or thwart any part of its purposes or fulfillment.
(3) Mistake or fraud concerning the identity of either party, or as to the nature of the ceremony, or serious personal or moral defect.
(4) Lack of Intent on the part of either party to enter into the marriage as a lifelong indissoluble contract with the other party before God.
(5) Concurrent contract inconsistent with the contract constituting canonical marriage.
(6) Mental deficiency or incapacity of either party or serious defect of personality or psychological factor present sufficient to prevent the exercise of intelligent choice, rational judgement, or the want of true consent.
(7) Insanity or serious mental illness or deficiency of either party.
(8) Failure of either party to have reached the age of puberty.
(9) Impotence, sexual perversion or inversion, homosexuality, or the existence of venereal disease or sterility known in either party undisclosed to the other.
(10) Force or threats of force, duress or other coercion or constraint in order to extort or obtain matrimonial consent against the free will of either party against the other, or by any and all third persons against either or both of the parties.
(11) Facts that would make the proposed marriage bigamous.
(12) Prior marriage of either of the parties, the original partner remaining still alive, unless the Church has determined by due canonical procedure that the former union was null and void ab initio and not a true and valid marriage.
(13) Pregnancy by other than the intended husband and that fact suppressed from or undisclosed to the man.
(14) Lack of any consent which must be freely given and received.
(15) Proposed marriage that would constitute an offence against the Moral Teaching of the Church or would be the result of an offence against the Divine Law.
(16) Intent to enter into or to continue any practice of concubinage or cohabitation or immoral conduct that would constitute an offence against the vows or bonds of matrimony.
(17) Intent on the part of either party not to consummate the marriage or to deprive the marriage union of the opportunity for procreation or to deprive any child conceived by the union of its right to life.
(b) Of Prohibited Impediments or Impedimenta Prohibitiva.
Without restricting the generality of the foregoing preface of this Section, the following in particular shall be deemed to be prohibited impediments to the Solemnization of Matrimony:
Failure of at least one party to be a communicant in good standing of this Church, and failure of either party to be a baptized and practicing Christian.
No Clergyman of this Church shall solemnize any marriage unless the following procedures have been complied with:
(a) The intention of the parties to contract marriage shall have been signified to the said Clergyman at least thirty (30) days before the service of solemnization, except a special or common License and Faculty have been granted by the Metropolitan or Bishop concerned as hereinafter specified, and for good and sufficient cause in the said Metropolitan's or Bishop's opinion.
(b) Where it is the responsibility of the Minister to do so, he shall assure himself that all the prerequisite notices, consents, license, and forms as required by the civil law of the jurisdiction in which such Marriage is to be solemnized, have been given, obtained, and completed. He shall also assure himself that the Banns of the persons to be married have been published openly as required by Canon or in lieu of such publication, a license has been obtained from the proper ecclesiastical authority. Otherwise, the Banns of Marriage shall be published openly in the Church three (3) several Sundays during Divine Worship, after the accustomed manner. Where either or both of the parties are accustomed to worship in a Church or Churches other than their own Parish Church, the Banns may be published in the Church or Churches in which they worship.
After the final publishing, their publication shall be recorded as required, and if the marriage is to be solemnized elsewhere, the appropriate certificate shall be forwarded to the officiating Minister.
The publication of Banns shall not exempt the parties from obtaining a license to marry where the Civil Law requires them to do so.
(c) There shall be present at least two witnesses to the solemnization, both of whom shall sign as such in the appropriate Register or Registers as may be required by Canon of that Diocese or other such jurisdiction or Civil Law, or both, and elsewhere provided by these Canons.
(d) Said Clergyman shall record in the proper Register or Registers aforesaid the date and place of the marriage, the names of the parties and their parents, the age of the parties, their residences, and their Church status.
The Metropolitan of each Province and the Bishop of every Diocese, Missionary Diocese, Missionary District, or other such jurisdiction may grant a common License and Faculty for the solemnization of matrimony without the publication of Banns or with less than thirty days' notice to the officiating Clergyman as otherwise set out in Section 3.04, Paragraph (a) of this Canon when in the said Metropolitan or Bishop's opinion there be good and sufficient cause for the same, at a lawful time and place and in no wise in contravention of
applicable Civil Law within the several areas of their jurisdiction, and the Primate of this Church may grant a special License and Faculty for the same purpose or purposes and for good and sufficient cause throughout this whole Church, in no wise in contravention of applicable Civil Law.
It is and shall be within the discretion of any Clergyman of this Church to decline to solemnize any marriage.
A marriage may not be solemnized at any unseasonable hour but only between sunrise and sunset, nor in the prohibited seasons, without a special License or Faculty from the Primate, or of the Metropolitan of the Province concerned for good and sufficient cause in the said Primate or Metropolitan's opinion. Said prohibited seasons are from Advent Sunday to the Octave of the Epiphany, Septuagesima to the Octave of Easter, and Rogation Sunday through the Eve of Trinity Sunday.
It is licit at all times to contract marriage privately before the Clergyman and appointed witnesses, but never clandestinely or by stealth.
When matrimony is to be solemnized, it belongs to the Clergyman to decide what music shall be played, what hymns or anthems shall be sung, or what furnishings or flowers should be placed in or about the Church for the occasion.
It is fitting that the new-married persons should receive the Holy communion at the time of their Marriage, or an the first opportunity after their Marriage.
The Order of Deaconess is the one Office of Ministry in the Catholic Church to which women are admitted by prayer and the laying on of hands of the Bishop, and this Church hereby solemnly reaffirms that universal principle.
Bishop Ordinaries may admit women qualified as Section 1 and 3 of Article XVI of the Constitution of this Church directs to the Office of Deaconess, using the form provided in THE CANADIAN BOOK OF OCCASIONAL OFFICES (1964) or other such orthodox form as the Synod of that Province concerned may authorize.
Deaconesses are members of the Laity, and may accept membership in the Assembly of the Laity in either the Holy Synod or the Provincial Synod concerned, or may serve as Delegates in the Lay Order of any Synod of a Diocese or other such jurisdiction concerned, without prejudice to the Standing of their Office.
Every woman who is to be admitted a Deaconess shall first present to the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese or other such jurisdiction in which she is a communicant:
(a) a Certificate or other sufficient evidence of the date and place of her birth;
(b) a Certificate or other evidence of her Baptism and Confirmation;
(c) a Certificate that she has been nominated to exercise the Office of Deaconess within his Diocese or other such jurisdiction either in a Cure of Souls or in some wider area, or is a Teacher or Lecturer or Professor in a School, College, or University, or is living under vows in the House of a Religious Order, Community, or Institute; and the said School, College, University or House of a Religious Order, Community, or Institute being situate within the said such Diocese or other such jurisdiction;
(d) a Certificate signed by the officiating Minister and a Churchwarden of the Parish in which she usually resides or in which her name is on the Church Electoral Roll, certifying that notice was given in the Church of the same in the time of Divine Service on some Sunday at least a month before the day appointed for her admission as Deaconess, of her intention of offering herself as a Candidate for the said Order, and that no cause or impediment was alleged by any person present why she should not be so admitted; and
(e) Testimonials of her good life, of her conformity to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of this Church, and her general fitness for the Office of Deaconess, from two Priests having a Cure of Souls, a Deaconess (when there be any) holding a license from a Bishop of this Church, and the Head of the College (when there be any) wherein she shall have trained for the said Office.
No women shall be admitted to the Office of Deaconess except she be unmarried or in Holy Widowhood and that she be found on examination, held by the Bishop aforesaid, or by competent persons appointed by him for this purpose, to possess a sufficient knowledge of Holy Scripture, the writings of the Fathers of the Church, and of the rest of the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of this Church.
Every woman who is to be admitted to the Office of Deaconess shall, in the presence of the Bishop by whom she is to be so admitted, make and subscribe the following Declaration and Oath:
I, A.B., do promise conformity and obedience to the Doctrine, Discipline, and Worship of the Anglican Catholic Church. So help me God, through Jesus Christ.
I, A.B., will give due obedience to the [Lord] Bishop of and his Successors in all things lawful and honest. So help me God.
No Deaconess shall exercise her Office in any Diocese or other appropriate jurisdiction until ho has boon licensed so to do by the Bishop Ordinary thereof; provided that when any Deaconess is to exercise her Office temporarily in any Diocese or other such jurisdiction, the written permission of the Bishop Ordinary thereof shall suffice.
The Bishop Ordinary of every Diocese or other such jurisdiction shall keep a Register Book wherein shall be entered the names of every person whom he has either admitted to the Office of Deaconess or licensed to exercise the Office thereof in his Diocese or other such jurisdiction; and each such name shall be sent and certified to the central Registrar of Ordinations if, as, and when such Office shall be established by the Holy Synod or the Synod of that Province concerned .
Any woman who has been admitted and set apart to the Office of Deaconess in accordance with the provisions of these Canons and who, at any time thereafter, shall desire to resign from the exercise of her Ministry or intends to be married, shall give notice of such desire or intention to the Bishop Ordinary of that jurisdiction concerned wherein she be canonically resident, and shall, thereupon, be released by that aforesaid Bishop Ordinary from the vows she has taken and she shall, thereby, cease from the exercise of the Office of her Ministry.
The Ordinary of a Diocese or other such jurisdiction may license and appoint one or more godly men to be Lay Readers in any congregation, parish or mission in that Diocese or other such jurisdiction at the request and on the nomination of the Clergyman of such congregation, parish, or mission who shall certify to the Ordinary that each such godly man has been validly baptised and confirmed, that he is a regular communicant in good standing of such congregation, parish or mission, that he possesses sufficient knowledge of the Holy Scriptures and of the Doctrine and Worship of the Anglican Catholic Church as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer, that he is able to read the services of the Church plainly, distinctly, audibly, and reverently and, if he is to be further licensed by the Ordinary, to teach and preach at the Offices, that he is capable both of teaching or preaching.
The license of a Lay Reader shall be granted for a definite period, not to exceed one year, and may be renewed from time to time, at the discretion of the Ordinary. Such renewal shall take into account an annual written report made by the Lay Reader to the Ordinary which report shall include comment or endorsement, or both, by the Clergyman in charge of the congregation, parish or mission to which the Lay Reader is appointed and licensed.
The license of a Lay Reader may be revoked by the Ordinary at any time. A Lay Reader, when required to do so by the Ordinary, shall cease from the exercise of his functions and return his license to the Bishop for cancellation.
No Lay Reader shall exercise his Office in a congregation, parish or mission other than the one to which he is appointed and licensed without the written permission of the Clergyman in charge of such other congregation, parish or mission and, if such other congregation, parish or mission is in another Diocese or other such jurisdiction, the written permission of the Ordinary thereof.
When officiating during the time of Divine Service a Lay Reader shall wear a cassock and surplice and, if he be a graduate, the hood of his degree.
In all matters relating to the conduct of Divine Service and to the Sermons or Homilies to be read, the Lay Reader shall conform to the directions of the Clergyman in charge of that congregation, parish or mission in which he is serving and, in all cases, to the direction of the Ordinary thereof.
He shall read only the following Offices from the Book of Common Prayer, or parts thereof, and shall observe the limitations specified:
(a) Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline, omitting the Absolution, and making no substitution for it;
(b) The Litany;
(c) The Penitential Office;
(d) The Offices of Instruction;
(e) In the Order for Holy Communion, The Epistle only;
(f) The Burial Offices; substituting for the priestly blessing the concluding prayer at the end of the Shorter Form for Family Prayer at evening (American) or Morning Prayer (Canadian); omitting the form for the hallowing of a grave; substituting for the priestly blessing at the Grave the final prayer at the end of the Shorter Form of Family Prayer at Morning; and substituting for the priestly blessing at the Burial for a Child, the concluding prayer at the end of the Shorter Form for Family Prayer at Evening (American) or Morning Prayer (Canadian) ; and
(g) In the 1962 Canadian edition of the Book of Common Prayer, the Order of Service for Young People and The Forms of Prayer to be Used at Sea, omitting the Absolution, and making no substitution for it.
A Lay Reader shall not deliver Sermons of addresses of his own composition, unless after instruction and examination, he be specially licensed thereto by the Ordinary.
Prior to being admitted or licensed as a Lay Reader, the man being so admitted or licensed shall affirm and subscribe to the following Declaration:
I, A.B., about to be admitted and licensed to the Office of Lay Reader in the Church do hereby declare as follows. I have been baptised and confirmed, and I am a regular communicant of the Anglican Catholic Church. I assent to the Peek of Common Prayer and I believe the doctrine of the Anglican Catholic Church as set forth therein to be agreeable to the Word of God. I will give due obedience to the [Lord] Bishop of ... and his Successors in all things lawful and honest.
The Ordinary, or his Deputy, may admit a person to the Office of Lay Reader by the delivery of a New Testament, but without imposition of hands, and shall give to the newly admitted and licensed Lay Reader a Certificate of his admission and licensing to the Office of Lay Reader.
Any member of the Laity, who is validly baptized and confirmed, and a regular communicant in good standing of this Church, and who possesses the necessary qualifications, may be commissioned by the Bishop of a Diocese, Missionary Diocese, Missionary district, or other such jurisdiction as a Lay Worker of the Church.
Such Diocesan Bishop or Bishop Ordinary of any aforesaid such jurisdiction shall give to every person so commissioned by him a Certificate of his or her Commission as a Lay Worker of the Church and such Commission shall not be repeated if said member of the Laity shall move to another Diocese or other such jurisdiction.
No member of the Laity who has been commissioned as a Lay Worker of the Church shall serve as such in any Diocese or other such jurisdiction except said member of the Laity shall have, in addition to the Certificate of aforesaid Commission, a license so to do from the Bishop thereof: provided that when any Lay Worker is to serve temporarily in any Diocese or other such jurisdiction, the written permission of the Bishop Ordinary thereof shall suffice.
No Bishop Ordinary shall commission or license any such person as a Lay Worker of the Church, except that he be satisfied that (a) such person is competent to carry out the duties of the Office to which he is to be appointed;
(b) if such person is to be a stipendiary Worker in any Place, adequate provision has been made for such person S salary, for such person's insurance against sickness and accident, and for a pension on such person's retirement.
Every such person to be so licensed by a Bishop shall have received training either under the supervision of a commission appointed by the Bishop Ordinary of a Diocese or other such jurisdiction for that purpose, or at a Centre set aside for that purpose, in the subjects deemed to be suitable therefor, among which shall be the following:
(a) The Holy Scriptures (b) The Book of Common Prayer (c) Pastoral Care (d) Worship and Liturgics (e) Church History (f) The Use of the Speaking Voice (g) Evangelism, and means to extend the work of Christ and the Church (h) Theology, and (i) other assigned subjects.
Each Provincial Synod of this Church may establish and provide for a training centre within that Province. Such training centre shall provide for the education and training or men and women for their lay ministries or work of evangelism in the Church, or both.
Such a training centre as set out in Section 3.06 above shall have as its Dean and overseer a Bishop of the Province within which it is situated.
Upon completion of a course of study in preparation for the Office of a Lay Worker of the Church, such person shall be examined on the subjects thereof by either the Bishop Ordinary of the Diocese or other such jurisdiction in which that member of the Laity in proposed to be licensed, or by others appointed by him for that purpose.
Lay Workers of the Church so commissioned and licensed as set out in Sections 3.02 and 3.03 above of this Canon shall be assigned to congregations, parishes, or missions without full- time Clergymen in charge, to assist the Clergy in charge of Cures of Souls in the field of Christian Education, and to such other duties as may be designated by said Bishop or Clergyman.
Every Lay Worker of the Church to be commissioned and licensed in this Church shall take such Oaths as are prescribed for Deaconess in these Canons
The Bishop Ordinary of every Diocese or other such
jurisdiction shall keep a Register Book, wherein shall be entered
the name of every person either commissioned or licensed by him
as a Lay Worker of the Church, together with the particular duties
which such person has been licensed to perform.