Thinking Anglicans

Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests

The arrangements under which Church of England parishes can now, on grounds of theological conviction, seek the priestly or episcopal ministry of men are contained in the Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests which was made by the House of Bishops in May 2014. There is also a grievance procedure if PCCs are not satisfied with the arrangements offered. This procedure could only be officially put in place after the new Canon allowing women to become bishops was promulged at General Synod on Monday 17 November, and the House of Bishops did this that evening.

The Declaration, together with a guidance note, and the Grievance Procedure are available online.
Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests (GS Misc 1076)
Guidance Note (GS Misc 1077)
Grievance Procedure: Regulations made by the House of Bishops under Canon C 29 (GS Misc 1087)

It should be noted that drafts of the Declaration and Grievance Procedure (GS 1932) were presented to, and “welcomed” by General Synod in February 2014, so none of this was new this month.

it was also announced before the November meeting of Synod that Sir Philip Mawer would be the first Independent Reviewer for the grievance procedure (GS Misc 1090).

This is all available on the Church of England website, along with a summary of how to bring a grievance: Declaration on the Ministry of Bishops and Priests.

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jon smith
jon smith
9 years ago

GS Misc 1076 – – doesn’t seem to mention resolution c – anybody know how this is covered under the new arrangements? GS Misc 1087 says in para 8 a grievance may be brought in relation to any office holder in respect of any action taken or failure to act in accordance with para 16 to 29 or 33 of the House of Bishops’ Declaration but in that GS 1076 declaration para 17 talks about all diocese acting consistently with the guiding principles set out in the requirements of the law, including the Equality Act 2010 – so somebody could… Read more »

Father David
Father David
9 years ago

Is this what used to be known as “a Code of Practice” which famously “will not do”? Seems perfectly sensible to me and there will definitely be no messing about with Sir Philip’s hand on the tiller

Jill Armstead
Jill Armstead
9 years ago

Father David: Probably in respect of the exceptions for religious belief?

Simon Butler
Simon Butler
9 years ago

Jon, as part of the legislation, the Act of Synod (which gave shape to the so-called ‘Resolutions’) is now no more. There is to be no such thing as a ‘C’ parish. These new arrangements cover all the matters relating to women in ordained ministry.

Richard Ashby
Richard Ashby
9 years ago

Simon. That may well be true, but why are Churches still including details of their resolutions in their advertisements for clergy in the Church Times?Presumably they are trying to indicate their position on women priests etc.

Another question – what provision should there be for congregations where there have been no resolutions but the parish priest refuses and rejects the ministry of women?

Perry Butler
Perry Butler
9 years ago

I wonder how male priests ordained by a woman bishop will fare in a diocese or episcopal area where the bishop is a ” traditionalist”?

RosalindR
RosalindR
9 years ago

Richard- the Declaration allows 2 years for the transition from Resolutions to parishes sending a letter of request. They could, in fact, have used the new process for vacancies advertised from after Nov 17, but the assumption is that the wording was sent in before that date. In the next 2 years, “Resolution” parishes will need to make a request to their bishop for extended oversight, following the good practice laid out in the declaration.

Father Ron Smith
9 years ago

Another relevant question might be this:

What would happen if a parish were to require the ministration of a Woman Bishop only, in their parish?

Daniel Berry, NYC
Daniel Berry, NYC
9 years ago

Thank you for that, Father Ron. About time somebody exposed this rubbish in those terms.

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