Archdeacons and the Law

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-18
Author(s):  
Jane Steen
Keyword(s):  
Conflict Resolution ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Channel Islands ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
Short Survey ◽  
The Law ◽  
Priestly Ministry ◽  
The Church

Previous studies of archdeacons in this Journal defended their pastoral hearts in a ministry dominated by law. This article sees the archdeacon's pastoral and priestly ministry as created and enabled by law. It looks at the canonical description of the archdeacon's office before turning to the work of an archdeacon in such areas as visitations, parish and diocesan governance, faculty jurisdiction, care and discipline of clergy, conflict resolution and creative innovation. The article draws on relevant legislative instruments, including Acts, Measures and Codes of Practice; on case law; and on quasi-legislation such as diocesan handbooks. Its conclusions are based not only upon what is set down in these, but also upon what archdeacons actually do. Archdeacons across the Church of England and the Church in Wales, and a Channel Islands dean, responded to a short survey looking at archdeacons’ work in relation to the stipulations of the law. The article concludes that archdeacons occupy a pivotal position in dioceses, both because of what the law requires and because of what it does not prohibit. They play a key role in shaping the church and its ministry. With bishops and others, they delight in its beauty and rejoice in its well-being.

The Nature and Sources of Ecclesiastical Law

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Hill QC
Keyword(s):  
Historical Development ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Early Church ◽  
Soft Law ◽  
Ecclesiastical Law ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church

This chapter examines the nature and sources of ecclesiastical law, or the law of the Church of England. It begins with a discussion of the purpose of the law of and for the Church of England, which is to regulate the functioning of the Church and its individual members by a combination of commands, prohibitions, and permissions. It then traces the historical development of ecclesiastical law, from the early Church through the Reformation and post-Reformation. It also considers the nature and effect of establishment of the Church as well as Acts of Parliament, measures, canons, and secondary legislation that have become sources of ecclesiastical law. Finally, it looks at other sources of ecclesiastical law including case law and precedent, quasi-legislation and soft law, jus divinum, custom, jus liturgicum and dispensation.

Ecclesiastical Law and the Law of God in Scripture

1998 ◽  
Vol 5 (22) ◽  
pp. 7-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony Bash
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Substantive Content ◽  
Ecclesiastical Law ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Positivist Approach

The Ecclesiastical Law Society is rightly promoting afresh the study of ecclesiastical law. In the case of the Church of England, the sources of ecclesiastical law are three-fold: case-law, statutes (and Measures made thereunder) and the Canons of the Church of England. These are the formal sources for identifying and expounding (Anglican) ecclesiastical law. The sources qua sources may not be the subject of debate; the debate may only be as to the interpretation of the contents of the sources and whether the sources should be amended. This approach to determining the substantive content of ecclesiastical law reflects the positivist approach to law, such as Bentham, Austin and Hart have set out.

The Clerical Declaration of Assent

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-187
Author(s):  
Rupert Bursell
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The Reformation ◽  
The Church

Following the Reformation, uniformity was a key principle undergirding worship in the Church of England. The Crown claimed the prerogative to order the use of, and to alter, Church services in spite of the provisions of any Act of Uniformity, the Canons or any Declaration of Assent. This caused confusion among the clergy and others as to who had ‘lawful authority’ to permit such usages or changes. This confusion was exacerbated by episcopal claims to a jus liturgicum. Statute and case law, as well as the wording of the Declaration, also ensured rigidity in doctrinal adhesion. Since the Church of England (Worship and Doctrine) Measure 1974 and recent amendments to the Canons and the Declaration of Assent, this rigidity has been relaxed and clarity provided as to who may authorise services or permit departure from otherwise authorised forms of service.

Being an Archdeacon: A Coaching Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 314-327
Author(s):  
Norman Boakes
Keyword(s):  
Recent Article ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Legal Aspect ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Training Development ◽  
Anglican Theology ◽  
The Church ◽  
The Way

Considering the importance of their role in the life of the Church of England and the Church in Wales, there is not much written about the role of archdeacons. In her recent article in the January 2019 issue of this Journal, Jane Steen focused on the legal aspect of the role of archdeacons, and reflected on how they play a key role in shaping the Church and its ministry, delighting in its beauty and rejoicing in its well-being. In this article, the recently retired training, development and support officer for archdeacons reflects on the nature of the role and, in the light of that, on the way in which it might best be carried out. Believing that process is at least as important as outcome, and that good processes lead to better outcomes, he argues that coaching provides a useful model to enable archdeacons to exercise their ministries most effectively and promote both the mission and the well-being of the Church. It is also, he argues, a better reflection of Anglican theology.

scholarly journals Priest in the Inner City

Ecclesiology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-31
Author(s):  
Martin Gainsborough
Keyword(s):  
Inner City ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Church Of England ◽  
Close Attention ◽  
Human Community ◽  
Priestly Ministry ◽  
The Church ◽  
Day By Day

The article considers the strengths and weaknesses of John Milbank’s ecclesiology by examining encounters the author has had as a Church of England priest working in the inner city. The analysis is further sharped by setting Milbank’s ecclesiology alongside Rowan Williams’s ideas about the Church and priestly ministry. The article argues that, while there is more to Milbank’s ecclesiology than some critics have allowed, his account can be usefully supplemented by close attention to the lived experience of the Church day by day. For a more rounded characterization of the Church as a distinctive human community, we need to look at the Church taken to its limits, sticking with situations of ‘dis-ease and conflict’, and not looking for ‘quick and false solutions’. These points can all be found in Williams’s ecclesiology.

Sovereignty and Common Law Judicial Office in Taylor's Case (1675)

2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 397-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Kearns
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Common Law ◽  
Ecclesiastical Law ◽  
Chief Justice ◽  
Spiritual Nature ◽  
The Common ◽  
English Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church ◽  
Law Making

This essay argues that the 1675 conviction of John Taylor by the Court of King's Bench for slandering God reveals Chief Justice Matthew Hale implementing a model of conjoint law-making between courts, Parliament, and crown that gave pre-eminent power to the common lawyers, and none to the Church of England. In doing so, it counters the prevailing literature on Restoration English law, which has treated the law as hierarchical, with the common lawyers subordinate to the sovereign. Rather than following statute or ecclesiastical law, which emphasised the spiritual nature of crimes like Taylor's, Hale located Taylor's offence in the exclusively temporal common law jurisdiction of defamation, which existed largely outside of monarchical purview. Hale's judgment reflected his rhetoric of judicial office outside the courtroom, where he argued the judiciary worked alongside King and Parliament in making law, but were not subservient to these institutions, for common lawyers relied on sources of law beyond sovereign-made statute. The language of sovereignty as hierarchical was thus a factional attack on an independent common law, an attempt to subordinate the common lawyers to the crown that was resisted by the lawyers like Hale in his rhetoric and exercise of office, and should not ground accounts of the Restoration regime.

Medical Law and Ethics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Herring
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
Medical Law ◽  
Legal Principles ◽  
Codes Of Practice ◽  
Reality Check ◽  
Law And Ethics ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
Feminist Perspectives ◽  
The Law ◽  
Court Of Appeal

Medical Law and Ethics covers not only the core legal principles, key cases, and statutes that govern medical law, but also explores the key ethical debates and dilemmas that exist in the field to ensure that the law is firmly embedded within its context. The title highlights these debates, drawing out the European angles, religious beliefs, and feminist perspectives which influence legal regulations. Other features such as ‘a shock to the system’, ‘public opinion’, and ‘reality check’ introduce further sociological aspects, contributing to the way in which the subject is approached. This new edition also includes coverage of new Codes of Practice issued by the Human Tissue Authority and the changes in the structure of the NHS. It also outlines important case law developments on the law on mental capacity and euthanasia, including the Charlie Gard litigation, the decision of the Supreme Court in Montgomery, and the Court of Appeal in Conway.

The Growth of the Layman's Power in the Episcopal Church

1912 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 63-77
Author(s):  
Daniel Dulany Addison
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Episcopal Church ◽  
Governing Body ◽  
Fundamental Law ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Church

The layman's power in the Episcopal Church is equal to that of the clergy and the bishops. Not only in the management of the parish, as a member or a vestryman, but in the legislation of the Diocese, in the Diocesan Convention, and in the legislation of the Church as a whole, in the General Convention, all action must be taken with his consent. There must be a concurrence between the clerical and lay vote. In the Diocesan Convention each parish is represented by the clergyman and the lay delegates; and in the General Convention, each diocese is represented by four clergymen and four laymen and the bishop. This procedure is such a radical departure from the law of the Church of England, which planted the Church in the Colonies that an inquiry into its development and growth may be of value in analyzing American conditions and tendencies. Dr. S. D. McConnell in his history says: “The provision in its fundamental law for the admission of the laity into the Church's governing body as an independent estate is an arrangement which had not been in operation for fifteen centuries. It was a return to a practice of the most primitive period, and had no contemporary illustration.”

Whose Supremacy? King, Parliament and the Church 1530–1640

1997 ◽  
Vol 4 (21) ◽  
pp. 700-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conrad Russell
Keyword(s):  
Church Of England ◽  
Elizabeth I ◽  
Chief Justice ◽  
Queen Elizabeth I ◽  
Bath Water ◽  
The Law ◽  
Royal Supremacy ◽  
Lord Chancellor ◽  
The Church

In October 1993, I had to decide whether it was proper for me, as an unbeliever, to go to Parliament to vote in favour of a Church of England measure. Was it proper that laymen, not members of the church, not involved in the decisions taken, should be allowed to sit in Parliament to decide what the law of the church should be? After some discussion, I was persuaded it was proper, and cast my vote accordingly. In that decision, I recognized the triumph of one version of the Royal Supremacy over another. It is the triumph of Christopher St. German over Bishop Stephen Gardiner, of Sir Francis Knollys over Queen Elizabeth I, of Chief Justice Coke over Lord Chancellor Ellesmere, and of John Pym over Archbishop Laud. That triumph took a century to arrive after Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy, and, like many other triumphs, it threw out a promising baby with its mess of popish bath-water.

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