The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada is the chief governing and legislative body of the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

(ACC), the sole Canadian representative of the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. The first

General Synod The General Synod is the title of the governing body of some church organizations. Anglican Communion The General Synod of the Church of England, which was established in 1970 replacing the Church Assembly (Church of England), Church Assembly, is t ...

session was held in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

in 1893, with the proviso that the parameters of its authority would not undermine the local independence of

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

Composition and responsibilities

General Synod 2010 - In debate (4690840801)

Except in special instances when it may be called into session by the

Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada The Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada (referred to in older documents as the Primate of All Canada or the Primate of Canada "Thirty-seven Welfare Organisations Ask Your Help!", Federation for Community Service. ca 1934-6.) is the primate of ...

or the Council of General Synod, the General Synod meets triennially at locations across Canada. Other recent locales for General Synod have been *2019:

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

*2016:

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

*2013:

Ottawa, Ontario Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

meeting in Joint Assembly with the National Church Council of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...

*2010:

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

*2007:

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

*2004:

St. Catharines, Ontario St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

*2001:

Waterloo, Ontario Waterloo is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is one of three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo (formerly Waterloo County, Ontario, Waterloo County). Waterloo is situated about west-southwest of Toronto. Due to the c ...

*1998:

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

*1995: Ottawa, Ontario The General Synod is composed of three Orders:

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

, and

Laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...

. All bishops and

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

s of the ACC are members of General Synod; clergy and lay delegates are elected from each of the church's thirty dioceses, as well as the

Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force. ...

and the religious orders. Unlike the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

or the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

, the Orders are not divided into Houses which meet separately according to different

rules of order Parliamentary procedure is the accepted rules, ethics, and customs governing meetings of an assembly or organization. Its object is to allow orderly deliberation upon questions of interest to the organization and thus to arrive at the sense or th ...

. Nonetheless, voting may be done by Orders with respect to certain issues, or on demand according to the rules of order, under which conditions a given Resolution would need to be approved in all three. The General Synod is responsible for articulating the

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief system ...

, discipline, and

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition ...

of the Anglican Church of Canada. During its regular meetings, which generally span a week to nine days, members exchange information, set policy for the church, pass resolutions, and enact and amend

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

. Presently, there are twenty-two numbered canons, dealing with issues as prosaic as the name of the church, to ones touching on doctrine, such as

matrimony Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

and Holy Orders, to judicial disciplinary proceedings.

Officers of General Synod and the Council of General Synod

General Synod elects three of the nine officers who maintain certain executive responsibilities at and between Synods. Of those, one - the Primate - holds office until he or she resigns, is removed, retires, or dies. The other officers, elected at each General Synod, are the

Prolocutor A prolocutor is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in Anglicanism. Usage in the Church of England In the Church of England, the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the Convocations of Canterbury and York, the House of Clergy. The ...

and the Deputy Prolocutor. The Prolocutor acts as the chief deputy to the Primate, and the second executive officer of General Synod. As such, he chairs sessions of General Synod and meetings of the Council of General Synod in the absence of the Primate. The current Prolocutor is Cynthia Haines Turner; the Deputy Prolocutor is Peter Wall.

Council of General Synod

Between sessions of General Synod, the Council of General Synod (COGS) administers the affairs of the ACC. COGS is composed of the Primate, the Prolocutor, the Deputy Prolocutor, the Chancellor, and representatives from the three Orders from each of the four

ecclesiastical provinces An ecclesiastical province is one of the basic forms of jurisdiction in Christian Churches with traditional hierarchical structure, including Western Christianity and Eastern Christianity. In general, an ecclesiastical province consists of sever ...

, chosen by the respective delegates at General Synod, the numbers of which vary according to a complicated electoral formula. COGS appoints four of the nine officers of General Synod: * The

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

* The

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

* The

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

* The Vice-Chancellor, if appointed It also elects two Officers-at-large (one Clergy, one Laity).

Committees of General Synod

General Synod has six standing committees, consisting of members both elected at General Synod and appointed by the Primate: * Faith, Worship and Ministry Committee: Responsible for

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

issues; * Partners in Mission Committee: Responsible for relationships with Anglican and

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

churches and organisations overseas; * Eco-Justice Committee: Responsible for social and environmental issues; * Pension Committee: Responsible for clergy and staff pension administration; * Financial Management and Development Committee: Responsible for the ACC's financial affairs; * Communications and Information Resources Committee: Responsible for the communications and publications of the ACC, including the

Anglican Journal The ''Anglican Journal'' is the national newspaper of the Anglican Church of Canada. Editorially independent, the ''Journal'' publishes news, features and opinion related to Anglicanism and religion in Canada and abroad. It also contains an exten ...

newspaper.

Important acts of recent General Synods

*1995: General Synod approves the publication of a new hymnal, the first since 1971. Published in 1998, under the title ''Common Praise''. *2001: General Synod approves full communion with the

, under the provisions of the

Waterloo Declaration The Waterloo Declaration or Called to Full Communion is an accord reached in 2001 by the Anglican Church of Canada and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. It was reached in 2001 at the Anglican Church's General Synod which was held at the ...

. *2004:

Andrew Hutchison Andrew Sandford Hutchison (born 19 September 1938) is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop who served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada from 2004 to 2007. Prior to his election at the General Synod of 2004, he was the Bishop of Montreal a ...

is elected twelfth Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Synod votes to affirm "the integrity and sanctity of committed adult same-sex relationships." *2007:

Fred Hiltz Frederick James Hiltz (born 3 December 1953) is a Canadian retired Anglican bishop. From 2007 to 2019, he served as Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Early life and education Hiltz was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, where he was also r ...

was elected the thirteenth primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Synod approved the "St. Michael Report", accepting that the blessing of same-sex unions is not a matter of "core doctrine" but rejected a motion that would have authorized dioceses to bless same-sex unions. The motion was passed by the clergy and laity, but was narrowly defeated by the House of Bishops. General Synod, however, approved a motion calling for "pastoral care" of same-sex couples and called on the Primate's Theological Commission to recommend changes to the Marriage Canon to permit the marriage of all couples entitled under Canadian civil law (thus including gays and lesbians). *2016: Same-sex Marriage received approval in first reading by two thirds majority requiring a second approval in second reading at General Synod 2019

References

External links

About General SynodHandbook of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of CanadaJoint Assembly (General Synod 2013) websiteGeneral Synod 2007 webpageGeneral Synod 2004General Synod 2001General Synod 1998
{{Portal bar, Christianity, Canada Recurring events established in 1893 1893 establishments in Canada Anglican Church of Canada Governing assemblies of religious organizations