The Acts of Convention

House of Deputies

The House of Deputies Committee on Structure presented its Report #92 on Resolution B015 (Amend Constitution for A Unicameral General Convention) and moved concurrence with a referral to a Standing Commission.

Original Text of Resolution

(B015)

Resolved, the House of Bishops concurring, That Article I, Section 1 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1. There shall be a General Convention of this Church, consisting of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, which Houses shall sit and deliberateseparately together; and in all deliberations freedom of debate shall be allowed. Either House may originate and propose legislation, and all acts of the Convention shall be adopted and be authenticated by both Houses. To constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, a majority of all Bishops entitled to vote shall be present and a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation shall be represented by at least one Deputy who is a Presbyter or Deacon and one Deputy who is a Lay Person.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article I, Section 2 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2. Each Bishop of this Church having jurisdiction, every Bishop Coadjutor, every Suffragan Bishop, every Assistant Bishop, and every Bishop who by reason of advanced age or bodily infirmity, or who, under an election to an office created by the General Convention, or for reasons of mission strategy determined by action of the General Convention or the House of Bishops, has resigned a jurisdiction shall have a seat and a vote in the House of Bishops General Convention. A majority of all Bishops entitled to vote, exclusive of Bishops who have resigned their jurisdiction or positions, shall be necessary to constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article I, Section 3 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 3. At the General Convention next before the expiration of the term of office of the Presiding Bishop, it shall elect the Presiding Bishop of the Church. The House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention shall choose one of the Bishops of this Church to be the Presiding Bishop of the Church by a vote of a majority of all Bishops , excluding retired Bishops not present, except that whenever two-thirds of the House of Bishops are present a majority vote shall suffice , such choice to be subject to confirmation by the House of Deputies of the General Convention. The term and tenure of office and duties and particulars of the election not inconsistent with the preceding provisions shall be prescribed by the Canons of the General Convention.

But if the Presiding Bishop of the Church shall resign the office as such, or if by reason of infirmity shall become disabled, or in case of death, the Bishop who, according to the Rules of the House of Bishops General Convention, becomes its Presiding Officer, shall (unless the date of the next General Convention is within three months) immediately call a special meeting of the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention, to elect a member thereof to be the one of the Bishops of this Church to be the Presiding Bishop. The certificate of election on the part of the House of Bishops shall be sent by the Presiding Officer to the Standing Committees of the several Dioceses, and if a majority of the Standing Committees of the Dioceses shall concur in the election, the Bishop elected shall become the Presiding Bishop of the Church.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article I, Section 4 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 4. The Church in each Diocese which has been admitted to union with the General Convention, each area Mission established as provided by Article VI, and the Convocation of the American Churches in Europe, shall be entitled to representation in the House of Deputies General Convention by not more than four two ordained persons, Presbyters or Deacons, canonically resident in the Diocese and not more than four two Lay Persons, confirmed adult communicants of this Church, in good standing in the Diocese but not necessarily domiciled resident in the Diocese; but the General Convention by Canon may reduce the representation to not fewer than two Deputies in each order. Each Diocese, and the Convocation of the American Churches in Europe, shall prescribe the manner in which its Deputies shall be chosen.

To constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, the Clerical order shall be represented by at least one Deputy in each of a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation, and the Lay order shall likewise be represented by at least one Deputy in each of a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 5. The vote on all questions which come before the House of Deputies General Convention shall be governed by the following provisions, supplemented by such procedural provisions as the House of DeputiesGeneral Convention may adopt in its Rules of Order:

Unless a greater vote on any question is required by this Constitution or by the Canons in cases not specifically dealt with by this Constitution or unless a vote by orders voting separately on a question is required, the affirmative vote of a majority of all of the Deputies and Bishops present and voting shall suffice to carry any question. A Deputies and Bishops shall vote by orders separately on any question shall be taken if required for that question by this Constitution or by the Canons or if the Clerical or Lay representation from three or more separate Dioceses shall so request at the time of the call for the vote on that question. In all cases of a vote by orders, the vote of each order, Clerical and Lay, shall be counted separately, each order in each Diocese shall have one vote, and a vote in the affirmative by an order in a Diocese shall require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Deputies present in that order in that Diocese. To carry in the affirmative any question being voted on by orders separately requires concurrence in the affirmative by a majority of both orders Bishops and Deputies present, unless a greater vote is required by this Constitution or by the Canons in cases not specifically dealt with by this Constitution, concurrence in the affirmative by an order requires the affirmative vote in that order by a majority of the Dioceses present in that order.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article I, Section 6 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec 6. In either House The majority of any number of Bishops and Deputies less than a quorum may vote to adjourn the General Convention from day to day.Neither House, without the consent of the other, shall adjourn for more than three days, or to any place other than that in which the Convention shall be sitting.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 2. No one shall be ordained and consecrated Bishop until the attainment of thirty years of age; nor without the consent of a majority of the Standing Committees of all the Dioceses, and the consent of a majority of the Bishops of this Church exercising jurisdiction. But if the election shall have taken place within one hundred twenty days before the meeting of General Convention, the consent of theHouse of Deputies General Convention, voting separately in accordance with Article I, Section 5, shall be required in place of that of a majority of the Standing Committees and a majority of Bishops exercising jurisdiction. No one shall be ordained and consecrated Bishop by fewer than three Bishops.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article II, Section 6 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 6. A Bishop may not resign jurisdiction without the consent of the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article II, Section 7 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 7. It shall be lawful for the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention to elect a Suffragan Bishop who, under the direction of the Presiding Bishop, shall be in charge of the work of those chaplains in the Armed Forces of the United States, Veterans' Administration Medical Centers, and Federal Correctional Institutions who are ordained Ministers of this Church. The Suffragan Bishop so elected shall be consecrated and hold office under such conditions and limitations other than those provided in this Article as may be provided by Canons of the General Convention. The Suffragan Bishop shall be eligible for election as Bishop or Bishop Coadjutor or Suffragan Bishop of a Diocese.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article II, Section 8 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 8. A Bishop who has for at least five years next preceding, exercised jurisdiction as the Ordinary, or as the Bishop Coadjutor, of a Diocese, may be elected as Bishop, Bishop Coadjutor, or Suffragan Bishop of another Diocese. Before acceptance of such election a resignation of jurisdiction in the Diocese in which the Bishop is then serving, conditioned on the required consents of the Bishops and Standing Committees of the Church to such election, shall be submitted to the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention, and also, if the Bishop be a Bishop Coadjutor, a renunciation of the right of succession. Such resignation, and renunciation of the right of succession in the case of a Bishop Coadjutor, shall require the consent of the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article III of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Bishops may be consecrated for foreign lands upon due application therefrom, with the approbation of a majority of the Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in theHouse of Bishops General Convention, certified to the Presiding Bishop; under such conditions as may be prescribed by Canons of the General Convention. Bishops so consecrated shall not be eligible to the office of Diocesan or of Bishop Coadjutor of any Diocese in the United States or be entitled to vote in the House of Bishops General Convention, nor shall they perform any act of the episcopal office in any Diocese or Missionary Diocese

of this Church, unless requested so to do by the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof. If a Bishop so consecrated shall be subsequently duly elected as a Bishop of a Missionary Diocese of this Church, such election shall then confer all the rights and privileges given in the Canon to such Bishops.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article VI, Section 1 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Sec. 1. The House of Bishops General Convention may establish a Mission in any area not included within the boundaries of any Diocese of this Church or of any Church in communion with this Church, and elect or appoint a Bishop therefor.Deputies and Bishops shall vote separately in such election in accordance with Article I, Section 5.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article IX of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

The General Convention may, by Canon, establish one or more Courts for the Trial of Bishops.

Presbyters and Deacons canonically resident in a Diocese shall be tried by a Court instituted by the Convention thereof; Presbyters and Deacons canonically resident in a Missionary Diocese shall be tried according to Canons adopted by the Bishop and Convocation thereof, with the approval of the House of Bishops of this Church entitled to vote in the General Convention; Provided, that the General Convention in each case may prescribe by Canon for a change of venue.

The General Convention, in like manner, may establish or may provide for the establishment of Courts of Review of the determination of diocesan or other trial Courts.

The Court for the review of the determination of the trial Court, on the trial of a Bishop, shall be composed of Bishops only.

The General Convention, in like manner, may establish an ultimate Court of Appeal, solely for the review of the determination of any Court of Review on questions of Doctrine, Faith, or Worship.

None but a Bishop shall pronounce sentence of suspension, or removal, or deposition from the Ministry, on any Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon; and none but a Bishop shall admonish any Bishop, Presbyter, or Deacon.

A sentence of suspension shall specify on what terms or conditions and at what time the suspension shall cease. A sentence of suspension may be remitted in such manner as may be provided by Canon.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article X of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

The Book of Common Prayer, as now established or hereafter amended by the authority of this Church, shall be in use in all the Dioceses of this Church. No alteration thereof or addition thereto shall be made unless the same shall be first proposed in one regular meeting of the General Convention and by a resolve thereof be sent within six months to the Secretary of the Convention of every Diocese, to be made known to the Diocesan Convention at its next meeting, and be adopted by the General Convention at its next succeeding regular meeting by a majority of all Bishops, excluding retired Bishops not present, of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote in the House of Bishops, and by a vote by orders in the House of Deputies in accordance with Article I, Sec. 5, except that concurrence by the orders shall require the affirmative vote in each order by a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation in the House of Deputies Bishops and Deputies shall vote separately for such adoption in accordance with Article I, Section 5.

But notwithstanding anything herein above contained, the General Convention may at any one meeting, by a majority of the whole number of the Bishops entitled to vote in the House of Bishops, and by a majority of the Clerical and Lay Deputies of all the Dioceses entitled to representation in the House of Deputies, voting by orders separately as previously set forth in this Article:

(a) Amend the Table of Lessons and all Tables and Rubrics relating to the Psalms.

(b) Authorize for trial use throughout this Church, as an alternative at any time or times to the established Book of Common Prayer or to any section or Office thereof, a proposed revision of the whole Book or of any portion thereof, duly undertaken by the General Convention.

And Provided, that nothing in this Article shall be construed as restricting the authority of the Bishops of this Church to take such order as may be permitted by the Rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer or by the Canons of the General Convention for the use of special forms of worship.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article XI of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

Whenever the term "Diocese" is used without qualification in this Constitution, it shall be understood to refer both to Dioceses and to Missionary Dioceses and also, wherever applicable, to all other jurisdictions entitled to representation in the House of Deputies of the General Convention.

And be it further

Resolved, That Article XII of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:

No alteration or amendment of this Constitution shall be made unless the same shall be first proposed at one regular meeting of the General Convention and be sent to the Secretary of the Convention of every Diocese, to be made known to the Diocesan Convention at its next meeting, and be adopted by the General Convention at its next succeeding regular meeting by a majority of all Bishops, excluding retired Bishops not present, of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote in the House of Bishops, and by an affirmative vote by orders of Bishops and Deputies voting separately in the House of Deputies in accordance with Article I, Section 5, except that concurrence by the orders shall require the affirmative vote in each order by a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation in the House of Deputies.

Notwithstanding the provisions of the foregoing paragraph, the adoption of any alteration or amendment of this Constitution which inserts or repeals an Article, or a Section or Clause of an Article, shall effect the necessary change in numbers or letters of Articles or Sections or Clauses of an Article, that follow, and in references made in this Constitution to any other part, without the necessity of specific provision therefor in the alteration or amendment.

Each duly adopted alteration or amendment to this Constitution, unless otherwise expressly stated therein, shall take effect on the first day of January following the adjournment of the General Convention at which it is finally adopted.

Motion carried

Resolution referred to a Standing Commission

(Communicated to the House of Bishops in HD Message #327)