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The Churchwardens Measure 2001

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

James Behrens
James Behrens
Affiliation:
Lincoln's Inn and the Middle Temple, Barrister
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The Churchwardens Measure is concerned with the number of churchwardens in a parish, the qualifications to be a churchwarden, how they are appointed, and how they may cease to hold office. Nowhere does the Measure state anything about what a churchwarden actually does. For this you must look elsewhere. Two useful guides are A Handbook for Churchwardens and Parochial Church Councillors by Kenneth Macmorran and Timothy Briden (Mowbray, 2000), and Practical Church Management by James Behrens (Gracewing, 1998).

Type
Articles
Information
Ecclesiastical Law Journal , Volume 6 , Issue 29 , July 2001 , pp. 97 - 110
Copyright
Copyright © Ecclesiastical Law Society 2001

References

1 For example, Canon E 1: see The Canons of the Church of England (6th edn) (Church House Publishing, 2000).Google Scholar

2 This is the latest information available to the Legal Office of the Church of England as at 20 April 2001.

3 Working Party on Lay Office-holders, Report and proposed Measure and Canon (Church House Bookshop, 1995, reference GS 1164, GS 1165, GS 1166).

4 See Mark, Hill, Ecclesiastical Law (2nd edn) (Oxford, 2001), para 2.06.Google Scholar

5 The draft Measure as approved by General Synod in July 1997 has the General Synod reference GS 1165 C.

6 The draft Measure as approved by General Synod in July 1999 has the General Synod reference GS 1165 D.

7 Church Times, 14 07 2000, p 8.Google Scholar

8 The version approved by General Synod in 1997 had seventeen clauses; the version approved by General Synod in 1999 had nineteen. The final version has sixteen clauses.

9 In this paper I refer sometimes to clauses, sometimes to sections. Strictly, while a Measure is still in draft, before it has been approved by Parliament, it contains clauses; once it has become law its provisions are referred to as sections. To add to the confusion, even while a Measure is in draft, cross references within the Measure to other parts of the Measure always refer to section numbers.

10 Churchwardens Measure, cl 1(1).

11 Ibid, cl 11 (2).

12 Ibid, cl 12. If the custom involves a person other than the minister in the choice of the church wardens, then that person must give written consent for the custom to be abolished: cl 12(3).

13 See the Pastoral Measure 1983, s 27(5), now the Churchwardens Measure, cl 1(2)(a).

14 The Measure has been repealed, but schemes made under it remain in operation until re placed by some other scheme.

15 Duncan Kent, the synod officer for the Diocese of London, informs me that the full title of St Vedast includes the dedications of some fifteen other churches. Whether St Vedast still appoints twenty-six churchwardens is not known.

16 Church Representation Rules, r 18(4).

17 Pastoral Measure 1983, Sch 3, para 4(2)(d).

18 Unless they were specifically appointed as such, which would be very unusual.

19 Almost all the legal provisions relating to churchwardens refer to their parochial office, not any district within a parish. One exception is churchwardens in a conventional district. A conventional district remains part of the original parish, but functions effectively as a separate parish with its own PCC and churchwardens.

20 Church Representation Rules, r 14(1)(d). In practice, a deputy churchwarden is very likely to be a person who is already a member of the PCC.

21 Churchwardens (Appointment and Resignation) Measure 1964, s 1.

22 Churchwardens Measure, cl 1(3)(a).

23 This is a slight simplification of the effect of the Church Representation Rules, r 54(1), and Canon B 15A. Rule 54(1) (which is applied by the Churchwardens Measure, cl 13(1)). states:

‘“actual communicant” means a person who has received Communion according to the use of the church of England or of a Church in communion with the Church of England at least three times during the twelve months preceding the date of his election or appointment being a person whose name is on the roll of a parish and is either—

(a) confirmed or ready and desirous of being confirmed; or

(b) receiving the Holy Communion in accordance with the provisions of Canon B 15A paragraph 1(b).’

Canon B 15A, para 1(b), says that there shall be admitted to the Holy Communion ‘baptized persons who are communicant members of other Churches which subscribe to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity, and who are in good standing in their own Church.’

24 Churchwardens Measure, cl 1(4).

25 See Ibid, cl 1(4), and the Working Party Report, paragraph 23.

26 See the Churchwardens Measure, cl 1 (5)(b). This rule does not prevent a churchwarden of an ordinary parish church being at the same time a churchwarden of a Guild Church in the City of London: see cl 9(2).

27 see Ibid, cl 1(6).

28 Ibid, cl 2(4).

29 Whether it is theologically possible for a person to be both a Jew and a Christian, or both a Jew and a member of the Church of England, is beyond the scope of this paper.

30 It is arguable that you might appoint a Roman Catholic as a churchwarden without the bishop's consent, as long as they have declared they are a member of the Church of England, have attended worship for six months, are receiving ‘Anglican’ communion, and are a communicant Roman Catholic of good standing in the Roman Catholic church. This would be a very unusual situation, and would involve the Roman Catholic receiving some dispensation from the Roman Catholic Church from the requirements of Canon 844 §1 of the Code of Canon Law 1983, which provides that a Roman Catholic should only receive communion from a Roman Catholic priest.

31 Churchwardens Measure, cl 2(1).

32 Ibid, cl 2(2).

33 Incumbents (Vacation of Benefices) Measure 1977, s 10(6); Churchwardens Measure, cl 2(3).

34 Ibid, cl 14, Sch l, para 2.

35 As explained below, a person chosen as churchwarden by the meeting of the parishioners only formally becomes the churchwarden when he is admitted to this office by the bishop in about May.

36 See the Working Party Report, para 30.

37 Churchwardens Measure, cl 3 proviso.

38 I am grateful to Thomas Watkin of the Cardiff Law School for this information.

39 Churchwardens Measure, cl 3 proviso.

40 Churchwardens Measure, cl 4(1), (2). As to the meeting of parishioners, see para 9 below.

41 Ibid, cl 4(3).

42 Ibid, cl 4(4)(a). The Working Party recommended that nominations should be given in at least two clear days before the meeting, but the Measure just requires them to be given before the commencement of the meeting.

43 Churchwardens Measure, cl 4(4)(b).

44 Ibid, cl 4(5).

45 Ibid,, cl 5(7).

46 Ibid,, cl 5(6), is very confusing. It provides: ‘In case of an equal division of votes on any question other than one to determine an election of a churchwarden the chairman of the meeting of parishioners shall not have a second or casting vote and the motion on that question shall be treated as lost.’ This suggests that in the election of the churchwarden the minister (who is the chairman if he is present: see cl 5(5)) does have a casting vote. However, this would be wrong. The Church Representation Rules, r 13 (1), makes it clear that the minister does not have a vote in the election itself. The clause could have been better worded.

47 Churchwardens Measure, cl 4(7), (8).

48 Ibid,, c1 5(1).

49 See the Church Representation Rules, r 1(2).

50 Churchwardens Measure, cl 6(1).

51 Ibid,, cl 6(2).

52 Ibid,, cl 6(4).

53 Church Representation Rules, r 14(2).

54 Churchwardens Measure, cl 7(2). Post means post:not fax or e-mail.

55 Ibid,, cl 7(3).

56 Ibid,, cl 8(1)(a). As to such removal, see the Church Representation Rules, r 1(9).

57 Churchwardens Measure, cl 8(1)(b).

58 Ibid,, cl 8(1)(c).

59 Or clauses. In the draft Measure approved by Synod in 1997 there was one suspension clause, clause 9. In the draft Measure approved by Synod in 1997 this one clause had become three:clauses 9 to 11. (There is also a reference to suspension in cl 6(5). This also is removed in the version submitted to the Ecclesiastical Committee following Synod's resolution of July 2000.)

60 Clause 10 in the 1999 version of the draft Measure.

61 Clause 11 in the 1999 version of the draft Measure. The Dean of the Arches presides over the provincial court of appeal for the Province of Canterbury; the Auditor presides over the provincial court of appeal for the Province of York. Both offices are held by the same person, currently Sheila Cameron QC.

62 See the letter from the Clerk to the Ecclesiastical Committee quoted in section 2 above.

63 The Churchwardens Measure, cl 9(3). defines ‘actual communicant member of the Church of England’ for this purpose. It means ‘a member of the Church of England who is confirmed or ready and desirous of being confirmed and has received Communion according to the use of the Church of England or of a church in communion with the Church of England at least three times during the twelve months preceding the date of his election or appointment’. There is no requirement that the person has entered his name in the Guild Church electoral roll. To do this a person must have been baptised, and must declare that they are a member of the Church of England and that they do not belong to any church not in communion with the Church of England: City of London (Guild Churches) Act 1952, s 15(1). So. for Guild Churches the qualification of membership is a little stricter than for non-Guild churches, but this does not affect the appointment of churchwardens.

64 Churchwardens Measure, cl 10(1)(a)–(e).

65 Ibid, cl 10(2).

66 Ibid,, cl 16(3).

67 This is obviously a very delicate situation, so it is essential to obtain legal advice.