| A DIOCESAN BISHOP is to be given some discretion in dispensing parishes that are part of local ecumenical projects (LEPs) from the requirement that holy communion shall be regularly celebrated according to the Anglican rite, especially at Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun or Pentecost. But bishops will always have to have regard to the laity’s duty to communicate.
The amendment to Canon 44 was tightened by the Archbishop of Canterbury to make sure that the bishops always had regard “to the duty required by Canon B.15.1 that all who have been confirmed” should receive communion at those festivals, and that where the rite was not celebrated in a particular LEP church, Anglicans should have notice of it, and be provided for in neighbouring churches.
Introducing the debate, the Archdeacon of Malmesbury, the Ven. Alan Hawker, said that, though the canons required that holy communion should be celebrated in a parish once a week, this was modified in areas of local ecumenical projects. Even so, the canons still expected Anglican congregations to receive the Anglican sacrament regularly, especially at the festivals of Christmas, Easter, and Whitsun or Pentecost.
But he quoted instances of LEPs where the regular clergy were not Anglican. It could be distressing, for example, when at midnight at Christmas, when there was a large congregation, their regular minister had to stand aside “while an Anglican priest was wheeled in”.
This was a problem not only in the Ely diocese, but in some ten to 20 LEPs including the Church of England. The amendment had to weigh the balance between the canons and ecumenical hospitality.
The revision committee had received three suggestions. There was a proposal from Jim Cheeseman (Rochester) that, where the diocesan bishop had dispensed the parish from the requirement of an Anglican celebration, there should be a notice displayed outside the church indicating where one could be found. The committee did not support this, as it could be seen as ecumenically discourteous and possibly convey “subliminal messages”.
Clive Scowen (London) wanted to ensure that the parishioners were consulted before any decision was taken by the bishop to dispense with the requirement of an Anglican rite.
The committee said that this was already allowed for in Canon 44.
The proposal that the committee did accept came from Dr Williams.
Canon Alan Hargrave (Ely), who first brought the issue, as a motion, to the Synod’s attention, said that it worried him that “we don’t trust our bishops enough” to make the necessary decisions. In Ely diocese, there were growing numbers of big new housing developments on greenfield sites that did not easily fit into the parish structure. Instead, they lent themselves to a new church development, and would generally be served by a single ecumenical church.
He questioned whether the Synod needed to have a two-thirds majority in each House to agree this legislation, and said that its rejection would be “a real setback”.
The Bishop of Basingstoke, the Rt Revd Trevor Willmott (Southern Suffragans), said that the local community needed to reach agreement over the issue of the frequency of Anglican eucharists; otherwise a bishop would be left “in an impossible position”.
The Synod accepted the amendment to Canon B44, which now continues its legislative passage. |
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