| Resolution Number: | 1982-A048 |
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| Title: | Amend Canon I.16 [Of Regulations Respecting the Laity] |
| Legislative Action Taken: | Concurred As Substituted and Amended |
| Final Text: | |
Resolved, That Title I, Canon 16 be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1(a). All persons who have received the sacrament of Holy Baptism with water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Spirit, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, and whose baptisms have been are duly recorded in this Church, are members thereof.
(b). Members sixteen years of age and over are to be considered adult members.
(c). It is expected that all adult members of the Church, after appropriate instructions, will have made a mature public affirmation of their faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism and will have been confirmed or received by a Bishop of this Church or by a Bishop of a Church in communion with this Church.
Sec. 2(a). All baptized persons members of this Church who shall for one year next preceding have fulfilled the requirements of the Canon "of the Due Celebration of Sundays," received Holy Communion in this Church at least three times during the preceding year unless for good cause prevented, are to be considered communicants of this Church members of this Church in good standing.
(b). For the purposes of statistical consistency throughout the Church, communicants sixteen years of age and older are to be considered adult communicants.
Sec. 3. All such members in good standing who have been confirmed by a Bishop of this Church or a Bishop of a Church in communion with this Church, or, who have been received into this Church by a Bishop of this Church, and who shall, unless for good cause prevented, have received Holy Communion at least thrice during the next preceding year, are communicants in good standing.
All communicants of this Church who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying, and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing.
Sec. 4 (a). A communicant or baptized member of this Church in good standing, removing from one Parish or the congregation in which his or her membership is recorded, to another, shall be entitled to receive and shall procure from the Rector or Minister of the Parish or Congregation of his or her last enrollment or, if there be no Rector or Minister, from one of the Wardens, a certificate of membership addressed to the Rector or Minister of the Parish or Congregation to which removal is desired, stating indicating that he or she is duly registered or enrolled recorded as a communicant or baptized member (or adult member) in the Parish or Congregation from which he or she desires to be transferred, and recorded as a "baptized member" or "confirmed member" of this Church and whether or not such a member:
1. is a communicant;
2. is recorded as being in good standing;
3. has been confirmed or received by a Bishop of this Church or a Bishop in communion with this Church.
the Rector or Minister or Warden of the Parish or Congregation to which such communicant or baptized member may remove shall enroll him or her as a communicant or baptized member when such certificate is presented, or, on failure to produce such certificate through no fault of such communicant or baptized member, sufficient in the judgment of said Rector or Minister. Notice of such enrollment in such Parish or Congregation to which such communicant or baptized member shall have removed shall be sent by the Rector or Minister thereof to the Rector of the Parish from which the communicant or baptized member is removed.
Upon acknowledgment that a member who has received such certificate has been enrolled in another congregation of this or another Church, the Minister or Warden issuing the certificate shall remove the name of the person from the parish register.
(b). The Minister or Warden of the congregation to which such certificate is surrendered shall record in the parish register the information contained on the presented certificate of membership, and then notify the Minister or Warden of the congregation which issued the certificate that the person has been duly recorded as a member of the new congregation.
Whereupon the person's removal shall be noted in the parish register of the congregation which issued the certificate.
(c). If a member of this Church, not having such a certificate, desires to become a member of the congregation in the place to which he or she has removed, that person shall be directed by the Minister of the said congregation to procure a certificate from the former congregation, although on failure to produce such a certificate through no fault of the person applying, appropriate entry may be made in the parish register upon the evidence of membership status sufficient in the judgment of the Minister or Warden.
(d). Any communicant of any Church in communion with this Church shall be entitled to the benefit of this section so far as the same can be made applicable.
Sec. 4. Every communicant or baptized member of this Church shall be entitled to equal rights and status in any Parish or Mission thereof. He shall not be excluded from the worship or Sacraments of the Church, nor from parochial membership,
Sec. 5. No one shall be denied rights or status in this Church because of race, color, or ethnic origin.
Sec. 6 When a A person to whom the sacraments of the Church shall have been refused, or who has been repelled from the Holy Communion under the rubrics, or who desires a judgment as to his or her status in the Church, shall may lodge a complaint or application with the Bishop, or Ecclesiastical Authority. No Minister of this Church shall be required to admit to the sacraments a person so refused or repelled without the written direction of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority, it shall be the duty of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical authority unless he or it The Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority may in certain circumstances see sees fit to require the person to be admitted or restored because of the insufficiency of the cause assigned by the Minister. If it shall appear to the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority that there is sufficient cause to justify the refusal of Holy Communion, however, appropriate steps shall be taken to institute such an inquiry as may be directed by the Canons of the Diocese, and should no such Canon exist, the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority shall proceed according to such principles of law and equity as will insure an impartial investigation and judgment. decision; but no Minister of this Church shall be required to admit to the sacraments a person so refused or repelled without the written direction of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority.
Sec. 7. No unbaptized person shall be eligible to receive Holy Communion in this Church.; and be it further
Resolved, That the foregoing amendment shall take effect on the first day of January, 1986.
| Citation: | General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...The Episcopal Church, New Orleans, 1982 (New York: General Convention, 1983), p. C-44. |
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Legislative History
| Author: | The Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations |
|---|---|
| Originating House: | House of Bishops |
| Originating Committee: | Committee on Ecumenical Relations |
House of Bishops
Original Text of Resolution:
(A048)
Whereas, the 1979 General Convention referred to the Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations (SCER) for study and report to the 1982 General Convention, Resolution D-14 involving changes in Title 1, Canon 16, to implement the adoption by the 1976 General Convention of the document entitled "Toward a Mutual Recognition of Members"; and
Whereas, the SCER is aware that baptized persons who have not been confirmed may now receive Communion and recognizes the opportunity this offers for eucharistic hospitality to members of other Churches; and
Whereas, Baptism and Confirmation are events that are recorded permanently on parish registers; and
Whereas, there is a need to clarify the movement of members between congregations of this Church and congregations of other Churches; be it
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That Title 1, Canon 16 be amended to read as follows:
Sec. 1. All persons who have received the sacrament of Holy Baptism with water in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Spirit, and whose baptisms are duly recorded in this Church, are members thereof.
Sec. 2. All Baptized persons members of this Church who for one year next preceding the previous year shall have fulfilled the requirements of the Canon "of the Due Celebration of Sundays been faithful participants in the life and worship of this Church unless for good cause prevented, are members of this church to be considered in good standing.
Sec. 3. All members who have been confirmed by a Bishop of this Church or a Bishop of a Church in communion with this Church, or, who have been received into the communion of this Church by a Bishop of this Church, who shall unless for good cause prevented have received Holy Communion at least three during next preceding year, whose confirmation or reception has been duly recorded in this Church, are to be considered as communicants in good standing confirmed members of this Church.
Sec. 4. All members of this Church who have received Holy Communion at least thrice during the next preceding year are communicants of this Church.
Sec. 5(a). A communicant or baptized member of this Church in good standing, removing from one Parish or the Congregation in which his or her membership is recorded, to another, shall be entitled to receive and shall procure from the Rector or Minister of the Parish or Congregation of his or her last enrollment or, if there be no Rector or Minister of the Parish or Congregation to which removal is desired stating that he or she is duly registered or enrolled as a communicant or baptized member in the Parish or Congregation from which he or she desires to be transferred and recorded as a "baptized member" or "confirmed Member" of this Church the Rector or Minister or Warden of the Parish or Congregation to which such commitment or baptized member may remove shall enroll him or her as a communicant or baptized member when such certificate is presented, or, on failure to produce such certificate through no fault of such communicant or baptized members, upon other evidence of his or her being such communicant or baptized enrollment in such Parish or Congregation to which such communicant or baptized member shall have removed shall be sent by the Rector or Minister thereof to the Rector of the Parish from which the communicant or baptized member is removed; and whether or not in good standing. Upon acknowledgement that the membership of a member who has received such certificate has been recorded in another Congregation of this or another Church, the Minister will remove his or her name from the rolls of the Congregation.
[As corrected Subsection 5(a) would now read as follows:
Sec. 5(a). A member of this Church, removing from the Congregation in which his or her membership is recorded, shall be entitled to receive a certificate stating that he or she is recorded as a "baptized member" or "confirmed member" of this Church, and whether or not in good standing. Upon acknowledgement that the membership of a member who has received such certificate has been recorded in another Congregation of this or another Church, the Minister will remove his or her name from the rolls of the Congregation.]
(b). The Minister or Warden of the Parish or Congregation to which a member moves shall record that person as a "baptized member" when the evidence of his or her Baptism with water in the Name of the Trinity has been received from another Congregation of this or another Church and as a "confirmed member" when the appropriate certificate has been received from another Congregation of this Church or a Church in communion with this Church.
(c). It shall be the duty of the Rector or Minister of every Parish or Congregation, learning of the removal of any member of his Parish or Congregation to another Cure without having secured a letter of transfer certificate, as herein provided, to transmit to the Minister of such Cure a letter of advice informing him or her thereof.
[The former Subsection (b) will be designated as Subsection (d)]
(d). Any communicant of any Church in communion with this Church shall be entitled to the benefit of this Section so far as the same can be made applicable.
[The former Sec. 4. becomes Section 6.]
Sec. 6. Every communicant or baptized member of this Church shall be entitled to equal rights and status in any Parish or Mission thereof. He or she shall not No member of this Church shall be denied rights or status or be excluded from the worship or sacraments of the Church, nor from parochial membership because of race, color, or ethnic origin.
Sec. 7. See. 6. When a person to whom the sacraments of the Church shall have been refused, or who has been repelled from the Holy Communion under the rubrics, or who desires a judgment as to his or her status in the Church, shall lodge a complaint or application with the Bishop, or Ecclesiastical Authority, it shall be the duty of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority, unless he or it the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority sees fit to require the person to be admitted or restored because of the insufficiency of the cause assigned by the Minister, to institute such an inquiry as may be directed by the Canons of the Diocese, and should no such Canon exist, the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority shall proceed according to such principles of law and equity as will insure an impartial decision; but no Minister of this Church shall be required to admit to the sacraments a person so refused or repelled without the written direction of the Bishop or Ecclesiastical Authority; and be it further
Resolved, That the foregoing amendment shall take effect on the first day of January, 1986.
Proposed Committee Substitute:
Currently Not Available
On the eighth day, the Bishop of Kentucky, Chairman of the Committee on Ecumenical Relations, moved a substitute for Resolutions A-48, A-78 and B-16 (A-48S).
Seconded by the Bishop of Indianapolis.
Motion carried
The Bishop of Nevada moved an amendment.
Proposed Amendment:
Delete Section 4 Seconded by the Bishop of Arizona.
Motion failed
The Bishop of Upper South Carolina moved an amendment.
Proposed Amendment:
Change the age of "16" to "18" whenever it occurs in this Canon Seconded by Bishop Gordon.
Motion failed
The Bishop of Western New York moved an amendment.
Proposed Amendment:
Delete in Section 6 the second sentence, beginning "No minister...." Seconded by Bishop Rose.
Motion failed
The Bishop of Rio Grande moved an amendment.
Proposed Amendment:
That the word regularly be inserted in Section 7, at the end of the sentence. Seconded by the Bishop of Idaho.
Motion failed
The motion for the substitute resolution carried.
Motion carried
(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Message #197)
House of Deputies
On the ninth day, the Committee on Dispatch of Business moved to suspend the Rules so that Report #17, of the Committee on Ecumenical Relations, recommending concurrence with Resolution A-48S (Membership), might be considered immediately.
Motion carried
Debate followed.
Deputy Jordan, of Southern Virginia, moved to amend the resolution.
Proposed Amendment:
Not Currently Available
The Vice-President ruled that the proposed amendment was in fact a substitute.
Debate on the substitute resolution followed.
A motion was made to extend debate by an additional 5 minutes.
Motion carried
The question was called on the substitute resolution.
Motion carried
Deputy Wood, of Connecticut, moved to postpone the matter until the first item of business on Wednesday.
Motion lost
The question was called on the Jordan substitute resolution.
Motion carried
Substitute resolution defeated
The deputations of the Dioceses of Virginia, of South Dakota, and Pittsburgh requested a vote by orders on Resolution A-48S
The Committee on Ecumenical Relations presented its Report #17, on Resolution A-48S (Regulations respecting laity).
The Committee recommended concurrence with House of Bishops Message #197, and that the resolution be adopted as amended.
A vote by orders was taken--Ballot #13, Resolution A-48S.
The Secretary read the results of Ballot #13.
Needed to pass: 52 lay votes, 54 clerical votes.
| Lay: | Yes--69 | No--36 | Divided--10 | ||
| Clerical: | Yes--60 | No--38 | Divided--9 |
The House concurred
(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #245)
The deputation of the Diocese of Ohio requested a poll of their vote.
The Secretary read the vote of the Diocese of Ohio:
| Lay (Divided) | Clerical (Yes) | ||
| Franck--Yes | Smith--Yes | ||
| Durban--No | Willson--No | ||
| Durcell--No | Bowman--Yes | ||
| Newell--Yes | (Three clerical votes only) |
House of Bishops
On the tenth day, the Secretary read:
HD Message #245 --A-48S; Amend I.16.
The House concurred
(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB #264)
Resolution Concurred by Both Houses, September 14.
| Report Reference: | Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, Reports to the 67th General Convention, 1982, pp. 41-69. |
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| Abstract: | The 67th General Convention amends Canon Title I.16 to emphasize baptism as the primary requirement for membership in the Church and to clarify the criteria to become a communicant and a member of a congregation. |
| Notes: | The accuracy of the final text of the resolution cannot be verified by the legislative history. The text of the substitute which was adopted and concurred unamended by both Houses was not printed in the Journal, 1982. The text of the canonical change was not replicated in the published Constitution and Canons until the 1985 edition. |