Legislative jurisdiction in a Province shall be exercised by a Provincial Synod, such legislative jurisdiction to be subject and subordinate to the Common Law of the Church and this Constitution, which Synod may enact Canons not in conflict herewith, provide for the execution of said Canons, provide for the general interests and well-being of the Church within that Province, provide for the general administration of the Province in accordance with this Constitution, receive tithes from the Dioceses, establish a treasury and expend funds therefrom as necessary, provide for the governing of ecclesiastical discipline in that Province and the regulation of the ministrations of the Clergy and others, and provide, with the consent of the Holy Synod where necessary, for the creation, division, adjustment, or rearrangement of Dioceses within that Province.
(a) Each Provincial Synod to have three Houses:
(1) A Council of Bishops, consisting of all the Bishops of the Province; (2) A Senate of the Clergy, consisting of not to exceed eleven Clergymen from each Diocese, the exact number to be fixed by Provincial Canon, and chosen in accordance with Diocesan Canons; and
(3) An Assembly of the Laity, consisting of not to exceed eleven lay Delegates from each Diocese, the exact number to be fixed by Provincial Canon, and chosen in accordance with Diocesan Canons.
(b) Provision for Representation from Jurisdictions other than Dioceses.
Delegates in either House from other Jurisdictions under Provincial Authority may be provided for by Provincial Canon.
(c) Composition, Officers, and Rules of Procedure.
The Composition, officers, and rules of procedure of each such House shall be as provided for by Provincial Canon, unless otherwise provided herein.
Any House may initiate legislation, and a majority vote of those present and voting in each House, there being a canonical quorum present therein, shall be sufficient for passage thereof, except for adoption and amendment of Canons, which shall require a concurrent three-fourths majority of those present and voting in each House, -there being a canonical quorum present therein.
Nothing is to be deemed an Act or Canon of a Provincial Synod unless it shall have received the Assent of the Metropolitan, which is not lightly nor without the gravest cause to be withheld. The reason for any withholding of Assent must be given in writing.
In cases of dissent by the Metropolitan, the matter shall stand over to the next regular Synod, when, if the same is concurred in by not fewer than three-fourths of the total membership of each House of the Synod, it shall be deemed a valid enactment and take effect.
The frequency with which each Provincial Synod shall meet and the method of selection of the place and time of meeting shall be as provided for by Canon.
The Primate of this Church shall be the senior Metropolitan willing and able to undertake the duties and Office of the Primacy of this Church, except that the first Primate shall be chosen by two-thirds vote of the Council of Bishops and consented to by two-thirds vote each of the Senate of the Clergy of the Holy Synod and the Assembly of the Laity of the Holy Synod.
Such Metropolitan shall be styled Primate of the Anglican Catholic Church and the Metropolitical See of which he may be Archbishop shall, so long as he retains the Office of Primate, be also the Primatial See of this Church.
The Primate shall take precedence over all other Bishops, Archbishops, and Metropolitans of this Church.
The Primate shall serve for life unless he shall resign, retire, or be removed in accordance with this Constitution or Canons.
It shall be the duty of the Primate to convene and to be President of the College of Bishops of this Church, to convene and to be the President of the Holy Synod, and to preside over all joint sessions thereof, to preside over the College of Bishops and the Council of Bishops in the Holy Synod, to forward non-privileged decisions of the Holy Synod and the College of Bishops throughout the Church as a whole, and, after consultation with the other Metropolitans and the College of Bishops of this Church and any body so authorized by the Holy Synod, to speak in the name of the Anglican Catholic Church.
In case of the absence of the Primate from the Holy Synod for any cause, the Metropolitan next senior by appointment or election, or if there be no Metropolitan present, the Bishop elected as President of the Council of Bishops at the Holy Synod, shall be and shall act as President of the Holy Synod in his stead.
In the case of illness or any other cause of incapacity of the Primate to fulfill his duties, the next senior Metropolitan able and willing to act shall have authority to perform all the duties of the Primacy and shall be styled Acting Primate.
Upon the attainment and establishment of three Provinces of this Church, there shall be formed a Holy Synod, which shall have the general legislative jurisdiction of this Church in all matters affecting the general interest and well-being of the whole Church. Such legislative jurisdiction shall be subject and subordinate to the Common Law of the Church and this Constitution.
The Holy Synod may enact Canons not in conflict herewith; provide for the execution of said Canons; provide for the general administration of this Church in accordance with this Constitution; receive monies from the Dioceses and other sources; and establish a treasury and expend funds therefrom as necessary.
The Holy Synod shall provide for the ecclesiastical character, constitution, integrity, and autonomy of this Church, provide for the conduct of relations of this Church with other religious bodies on this continent and elsewhere and with other Churches of the Anglican Communion; provide, with the consent of the Provincial Synod or Synods concerned, for the creation and constitution of new Provinces in this Church; and provide for the declaration of general principles governing discipline in the Church.
The Holy Synod shall be empowered to provide for the election and consecration of Overseas Bishops, Missionary Bishops, and Bishops to the Armed Forces and for the creation of their jurisdictions.
(a) The Holy Synod to have three Houses.
The Holy Synod shall consist of three Houses:
(1) A Council of Bishops, consisting of all the Bishops of this Church;
(2) A Senate of the Clergy, consisting of not to exceed eleven Clergymen from each Diocese, the exact number to be fixed by Canon, and chosen in accordance with Diocesan Canons; and
(3) An Assembly of the Laity, consisting of not to exceed eleven lay Delegates from each Diocese, the exact number to be fixed by Canon, and Chosen in accordance with Diocesan Canons.
(b) Provision for Representation from Jurisdictions other than Dioceses.
Delegates from other Jurisdictions may be provided for by Canon.
(c) Composition, Officers, and Rules of Procedure.
The composition, officers, and rules of procedure of each House shall be as provided for by Canon, unless otherwise provided for herein.
Any House may initiate legislation, and a majority vote of those present and voting in each House, there being a canonical quorum present therein, shall be sufficient for passage thereof, except for adoption and amendment of Canons, which shall require a concurrent three-fourths majority of those present and voting in each House, there being a canonical quorum present therein.
Nothing is deemed an Act or Canon of the Holy Synod that does not have also the Assent of all the Metropolitans of this Church, and such Assent shall not lightly nor without the gravest cause be withheld. The reason for any withholding of Assent shall be in writing.
In case of dissent by the Primate or any other Metropolitan, the matter shall stand over to the next regular Synod, when, if the same is concurred in by not fewer than three-fourths of the total membership of each House of the Synod, it shall be deemed a valid enactment and take effect.
The frequency with which the Holy Synod shall meet and the method of selection of the place and time of meeting shall be as provided for by Canon.
Until the Holy Synod comes into being, the legislative jurisdiction assigned to it shall be exercised by the Synod of the Original Province of this Church.
The Ecclesiastical Courts of this Church are of three Orders:
(a) The Diocesan Court of the ordinary or the Consistory Court;
(b) The Court of the Metropolitan or the Provincial Court; and
(c) When it shall come into being, the High Court of the Holy Synod.
Each Court shall be appointed as provided for in the Canons, and shall possess and enjoy all powers for the compelling of the attendance of witnesses, the conducting and regulating of its business, and the enforcements of the judgements, decrees, decisions, or sentences made therein.
Except as to findings of fact in matrimonial causes, it is hereby declared that no Bishop, or Court, or tribunal, or decision, or Diocesan, Provincial, or Holy Synod has or shall have the right to limit or restrict appeals from his or its judgements or decrees or decisions or sentences to any higher Court of this Church.
Furthermore, this Church reaffirms the ancient Christian right of every individual subject to the Church, both clerical and lay, to appeal to his Metropolitan, even in cases not elsewhere herein specified, and this right shall remain inalienable.
All Court and tribunals of this Church shall be governed first of all by the desire for truth and justice, and to protect and guarantee the Christian rights of all parties brought before them.
In each Province there shall be a Court of the Metropolitan or Provincial Court which shall exercise original jurisdiction over all matters and the enactments of the Provincial Synod pursuant to this Constitution not reserved to the High Court of the Holy Synod, and the trial of all Bishops of that Province.
Except as to findings of fact in matrimonial causes, said Court shall also have appellate jurisdiction over all Diocesan Courts and tribunals, and of appeals from the judgements, or decrees, or decisions, or sentences of the Ordinaries of that Province in matters of Discipline, of Offenses against the Laws Ecclesiastical, of Law, of all ecclesiastical Causes, of Doctrine, and of Worship.
Upon the attainment and establishment of three Provinces of this Church, there shall be created a final Court of Appeal of this Church which Court shall be the Supreme Court and shall be called and styled The High Court of the Holy Synod.
Said Court shall exercise original jurisdiction over all matters relating to this Constitution and the canons enacted by the Holy Synod pursuant hereto, and shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine any appeal from the judgements, or decrees, or decisions, or sentences of any Court or tribunal of this Church or from the judgements, or decrees, or decisions, or sentences of any Bishop of this church, except as to findings of fact in matrimonial causes.
No Metropolitan or Bishop shall sit in judgement on decisions from any appeal taken from his own Diocesan or Provincial Court or from any decision of his as Ordinary or Metropolitan.
Those who shall bring charges held to be frivolous or false against any person in the jurisdiction of the Ecclesiastical Courts of this Church shall be held accountable for their acts by the Courts.
All Bishops, other Clergymen, and the Laity of this Church are subject to this constitution and to such Canons as may be enacted hereunder and are amenable to the Ecclesiastical Courts and tribunals provided for herein.
All words and provisions of this Constitution and Canons shall be interpreted strictly in accordance with their plain literal and grammatical meaning at the time of writing.
For grave cause only, the Primate of this Church or the Metropolitan of any Province of this Church may be removed from his Office as such by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of the whole number of members of each House of the Holy Synod, or of the Synod of the Province concerned, as the case may be, and with the consent of all the other Metropolitans.
The Primate, or until there be a Primate, the Metropolitan, by and with the advice and consent of the Holy or Provincial Synod, as the case may be, shall appoint an Ordinary for the Jurisdiction of the Armed Forces.
The Bishop so appointed shall be, except as he shall be limited by this Constitution or Canons enacted pursuant thereto, the Ordinary for the Armed Forces, and shall have episcopal jurisdiction over all Clergymen of this Church on active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, and of such congregations, chaplaincies, and mission work, as shall now exist, or shall come to be, among the Armed Forces of the United States; provided, however, that the spiritual jurisdiction and care of such chaplains, other Clergymen, and congregations, shall in no way infringe upon the jurisdiction of any Diocese or Missionary Diocese or District over the civilian Clergy or the civilian Laity thereof.
For the purpose of jurisdiction, the terms of the civilian Clergy and the civilian Laity shall exclude personnel of the Armed Forces on Active Duty, their spouses, and their dependents.
In the event of need, the Primate of this Church or the Metropolitan of that Province concerned, as the case may be, or as circumstances may permit or occasions may require, may appoint other Bishops with the same authority and jurisdiction aforesaid as near as possible as set forth in this Article for the Forces of other nations.
The book of Common Prayer in its 1549, 1928 American, 1962 Canadian editions, and the 1963 edition of the church of India, Pakistan, Burma, and Ceylon as well as The Supplement To The Book of Common Prayer (C.I.P.B.C.) of 1960 shall be the Standard of Public Worship of this Church, together with The Anglican Missal, The American Missal, The English Missal, and other missals and devotional manuals, based on and conforming to those editions of The Book of Common Prayer.
The Book of Common Praise of 1938 (Canada), The Hymnal, 1940, and The English Hymnal (New Edition, 1933) should be the primary musical standard for Public Worship.
In connection with the use of the above, the name of this Church
shall be substituted in the Place of other names where appropriate.
Any revision of The Book of Common Prayer shall be accomplished only in the manner by which this Constitution is amended.
The Celebration of the Holy Communion of the Body and Blood of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, otherwise known as the Holy Eucharist, the Divine Liturgy, the Lord's Supper, or the Mass, is the chief form of worship of this Church, and thankful participation therein is the bounden duty of every member of this Church on every Sunday, unless for good cause prevented, and is the joyful privilege and royal, priestly service of the People of God in the Household of Faith, as befits His Children in their Father's Temple.
The Authorized (King James) Version is the received Standard English translation of the Holy Scripture (Old Testament, New Testament, Apocrypha).
Except where the text of Holy Scripture is printed as part of the Book of Common prayer, modern versions may be employed in services of worship only with specific approval of the College of Bishops of this Church.
As the need may arise in the Church's services of worship, the College of Bishops may authorize the use of translations of Holy Scripture and the Book of Common Prayer in languages other than English.
This Church may enter into sacramental communion (communio in sacris) with other branches of Christ's One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church as set forth in formal Concordats ratified by the highest Synod of this Church in the manner required for the adoption of Canons.
The Clergy shall be male persons who shall have attained the age of twenty-three years prior to ordination as Deacon, twenty-four years prior to ordination as Priest, and forty years prior to ordination and consecration as Bishop.
In order to be ordained a Priest or a Deacon in this Church, a man shall have been rightly baptized and confirmed, and if to be ordained to the Priesthood, he shall have been rightly and canonically ordained to the Diaconate.
He shall meet the Scriptural, Apostolical, and Patristic qualifications for ordination, and he shall be free of sufficient objection that he is justly liable to evil report, either for error in religion or for viciousness of life.
He shall preserve chastity, and he shall not have disavowed a valid marriage, nor shall he be married to a woman who has done so.
He shall be of sound mind and body. He shall meet such other qualifications as Canons prescribe. Section 3. OF THE DECLARATION AND OATHS REQUIRED OF ORDINANDS.
Prior to being ordained or ordained and consecrated to any of the Holy Orders of the Church, all persons so to be ordained or ordained and consecrated shall make a Declaration of Conformity to the Doctrine. Discipline, and Worship of this church and take such oaths as shall be prescribed by the Canons.
Devout women who are rightly baptized and confirmed and who are regular communicants in good standing of this Church may be appointed and advanced by the Ordinary to the venerable Office of Deaconess, by solemn prayer and imposition of hands as prescribed by Canon.
Such imposition does not admit any such women to any Holy Order and specifically not to the Order of Deacons, nor shall Deaconess be allowed to exercise any Sacramental or liturgical function peculiar to or reserved to any Holy Order, nor shall they be allowed to preach at the Holy Communion.
The Ordinary may, within the limits of the Ancient Canons, assign them such duties as he may see fit, especially counselling, teaching, catechizing and visiting of women, young people, and children.
A women must have attained the age of forty years before she may receive the imposition of hands as a Deaconess, and then only after a searching spiritual, moral, and theological examination of her by the Ordinary.
Diocesan and Provincial Synods and the Holy Synod may enact Canons or other legislation implementing, or providing for the implementation of this Article.
A valid Christian Marriage creates a life-long Sacramental Bond between one man and one woman, and in obedience to our Lord's teaching, this Church dedicates itself to the faithful preservation and defence of the historic teachings of Catholic Christianity concerning Holy Matrimony, as received in the tradition of the Church, and affirms the Christian principle that, once a person has contracted a valid marriage, that person cannot enter into a valid marriage with any person other than the original spouse, during the life of the original spouse.
Every human being, from the moment of conception, is a creature of God, made in His image and likeness, and an infinitely precious soul, and this Church reaffirms the ancient Christian principle, enunciated by the early Fathers and Councils, that the intentional taking of the life of an innocent human being at any stage is a grave sin and is condemned under the Sixth Commandment.
All children are creatures of God, and, when baptized in the Church, Children of God.
It is the obligation of the members of this Church beginning with the parents, then the Godparents, and then the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity, all of whom have a right and responsibility, which cannot be abdicated to or abrogated by any temporal authority, to endeavour that children be born into stable families, and that children be nurtured and protected spiritually, morally, intellectually, and physically.
The Clergy and Laity of the Church have the Christian responsibility to provide such pastoral care and counselling as may be appropriate to accomplish the purposes of the foregoing Sections.
The Holy Synod and Provincial and Diocesan Synods shall enact canons not inconsistent with this Constitution for the implementation of these principles.
The Holy Synod and Provincial Synods may enact Canons governing the reception, establishment, and suppression of Religious Communities, and of educational, charitable, and benevolent foundations and institutions.
Notwithstanding other provisions of this Constitution, no Canon suppressing any such institution previously received or established may be enacted except by a vote of three-fourths of the whole number of each of the constituent authorities of the Holy Synod or Provincial Synod concerned.
Dioceses may enact Canons for similar purposes pertaining to Diocesan institutions.
The Constitutional Synod at which this Constitution shall be proposed shall have authority to enact Canons in conformity herewith, and in pursuance hereof, which shall be the Canons of this Church until they are amended in accordance with this Constitution.
The right of Congregations to control of their temporalities, and to freedom. from claims of any Diocesan or Provincial or Synodical Trust or implied Trust asserted by the adherence of such Congregation to the Communion of this Church, or by its adherence to the Constitution or Canons of any Diocese, Province, or Synod shall be forever recognized and protected.
No person or ecclesial body in this Church shall ever resort to any civil court for the purpose of depriving any congregation departing from this church of any property or right pertaining to it.
This Constitution and all Canons adopted simultaneously herewith shall be effective from and after the ratification thereof in Diocesan Synods of a majority of the Dioceses represented at the Constitutional Synod adopting this Constitution.
This Constitution may be amended in the following manner only:
(a) Proposals for Amendment.
Proposals for amendment shall be made by two-thirds vote of each House of the Provincial Synod or of the Holy Synod, as the case may be.
(b) Ratification by Diocesan Synods.
Such proposals shall be ratified within twenty-four months by a two- thirds vote in each order by the Synods of three-fourths of the constituent Dioceses.
(c) Amendments to be adopted again.
Said amendments must thereafter be adopted by a three-fourths vote of the membership of each House of the Provincial Synod or of the Holy Synod, as the Case may be, and shall take effect immediately unless it is specifically provided that they shall take effect at some future designated date.
(a) Matters not subject to Amendment.
The Solemn Declaration, The Preamble to the Constitution, and this Section are not subject to amendment.
(b) Matters beyond the power of any Synod or Episcopal Authority.
No Synod or Episcopal Authority shall have the power to alter, abolish, change, or impair any part of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith and Order.
NOTE:
THE SPELLING USED IN THIS EDITION OF THE CONSTITUTION
OF THE ANGLICAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, WHICH HAS ALTERED TRADITIONAL
ANGLICAN FORM, HAS NOT BEEN AUTHORIZED BY THE PROVINCIAL SYNOD
OF THIS CHURCH, NOR BY THE CONSTITUTION AND CANONS COMMITTEE OF
THIS CHURCH, NOR BY ANY OTHER OFFICIAL BODY CF THIS CHURCH. IT
IS TOTALLY UNWARRANTED BY ANY SUCH AUTHORITY