Canons and Constitution and General Convention 09

In light of the scathing post I made yesterday (please don't send me the bills for melted computer screens!) The topic of General Convention 2009 has been broached.

As we move closer the 76th Convention of The Episcopal Church, the Canons and Constitution of this Church will be discussed much more, particularly the sections to be revised (Title IV being the most important). This will be an interesting convention, to say the least.

Every Episcopalian should have a working knowledge of the C&Cs that you'll be able to follow the various discussions on the blogs. But also so that you will know how your church works and what your rights are in that church. For example, do you now what makes you a communicant member of this church? It's right there in Title I, Canon XVII:

Sec. 2. (a) All members of this Church who have received Holy Communion in this Church at least three times during the preceding year are to be considered communicants of this Church.
(b) For the purposes of statistical consistency throughout the Church, communicants sixteen years of age and over are to be considered adult communicants.

Sec. 3. 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.

I ask you to go here, the National Church web pages, and download a copy of the 2006 Canons and Constitutions of this Church in PDF format. Please do so and begin to familiarize yourself with the C&C.

Louie Crew's Unofficial Anglican Pages will be invaluable to you as you follow the discussion. I t is my understanding that the blue book will be a available there , too.

Finally, there is the official GC09 page found here. I believe that the blue book will also be available at the site. The blue book is the bible for the convention. It contains every resolution to be considered and is a wealth of other information, alas, most of which is in legal language.

Although I am not an expert in canon law or the constitution, I will do my best to post the relevant sections in our discussions. The more information you have, the better you'll be able to form your own opinion.

I firmly believe that if the Episcopalians in SJ, Pittsburgh, FW and Quincy had a knowledge of the C&C the schism in the US would have largely failed because the former could have defended themselves from the C&C.

UPDATE

It is apparent that my teaser didn't work. The comments reflect the fact that readers weren't "teased" into downloading the C&C and looking up Title 1: Canon XVII, "Of Regulations Respecting the Laity." So, in response to the comments, here is the relevant portion:

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 Spirit, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, and whose Baptisms have been 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 this Church, after appropriate instruction, 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 the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church or by a Bishop of a Church in communion with this Church. Those who have previously made a mature public commitment in another Church may be received by the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church, rather than confirmed.

(d) Any person who is baptized in this Church as an adult and receives the laying on of hands by the Bishop at Baptism is to be considered, for the purpose of this and all other Canons, as both baptized and confirmed; also, Any person who is baptized in this Church as an adult and at some time after the Baptism receives the laying on of hands by the Bishop in Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows is to be considered, for the purpose of this and all other Canons, as both baptized and confirmed; also, Any baptized person who received the laying on of hands at Confirmation (by any Bishop in apostolic succession) and is received into the Episcopal Church by a Bishop of this Church is to be considered, for the purpose of this and all other Canons, as both baptized and confirmed; and also, Any baptized person who received the laying on of hands by a Bishop of this Church at Confirmation or Reception is to be considered, for the purpose of this and all other Canons, as both baptized and confirmed.

Sec. 2 (a) All members of this Church who have received Holy Communion in this Church at least three times during the preceding year are to be considered communicants of this Church.

(b) For the purposes of statistical consistency throughout the Church, communicants sixteen years of age and over are to be considered adult communicants.

Sec. 3. 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.

Notice that Section 1(a) says, to be a member of TEC, one talks to the priest, provides proof of a Trinitarian baptism, states "I want to join this church," and has one's name recorded along with the baptism information.*

So there it is. No one needs to obtain a copy of the C&C. as I asked my readers to do. You can just trust me to have accurately presented the information. Or, did I?

*NB - The baptism must have been in Trinitarian form. That means the phrase "I baptize you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Ghost)" must have been used. Some churches baptize people "In the name of Jesus." That won't satisfy the requirement for the Anglican, RC, Eastern Orthodox, or Lutheran branches. If one has been baptized in the "name of Jesus" the person will receive a Trinitarian baptism and then be admitted into membership.