More on Episcopal Church governance can be found here on the Episcopal Church's website.

The Organization of the Church - The Rev. Mark Ainsworth

The Anglican Communion
A federation of over thirty independent churches related by history and fellowship to each other who regard the Archbishop of Canterbury as their spiritual head (he is not a juridical head like the Pope).

The Lambeth Conference – a gathering, held every ten years, of all the Bishops of the Anglican Communion

The Structure of the Episcopal Church

The National Church

The Presiding Bishop is the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Church

National Convention – takes place every three years.

Bicameral legislative organization i.e. House of bishops and House of Deputies (Clergy and laity)

The Provinces – groupings of Diocese within geographic areas, we are in Province three.

A Provincial Synod is convened from time to time to discuss business relevant to the dioceses that form the Province.

The Dioceses – geographical areas of oversight, usually coterminous with State borders, although in Pennsylvania there are five Dioceses.

The Bishop is the focus of unity in the Diocese, its CEO and spiritual leader.

Diocesan Convention – takes place annually – Bicameral as above. Convention elects members of the Standing Committee and Diocesan Council and also those who will represent the Diocese at National Convention.

The Standing Committee, along with the Bishop form the ecclesiastical authority within a Diocese. The Committee advises the Bishop and gives consent to various actions the Bishop wishes to take. It approves candidates for ordination, sets the budget for the Episcopate, and makes grants. It consists of five clergy and five laity who are elected for a five year term.

Diocesan Council, does the work of Diocesan Convention when the latter is not in session. It implements the resolutions of Convention, and sets the Diocesan Budget.

Dean’s Council – a monthly gathering of the Deans of the Diocese who meet with the Bishop.

The Deaneries are smaller units of oversight consisting of a cluster of parishes geographically proximate to one another. We are in the Montgomery Deanery which covers a portion of Montgomery county.

The Dean is a priest of the Deanery who is elected by the Deanery at its annual meeting to be a focus of unity in the Deanery. The Dean Convenes the Clericus and Plenary meetings and helps maintain communication up to the Bishop and down to the parishes.

Deanery Plenary meetings are analogous to the vestry meetings of a parish.

Deanery Clericus is the monthly meeting of the clergy of the Deanery

The Cathedral is headed by its Dean. It is the Bishop’s Church where his Cathedra or seat is found. This symbolizes his spiritual oversight of the diocese. The Cathedral is governed by a Chapter of elected laity and clergy.

The Parishes (and Missions – see below) are the basic unit of worship, fellowship and mission in a Diocese.

The Rector a priest of the Diocese who is the spiritual leader of the parish

The Wardens the senior lay leaders of the parish

Vestry the organizational body of the parish

(Vestry subcommittees)

The Annual Meeting – election to Vestry and Diocesan reps

The Missions in our Diocese are not self-supporting but receive some of their income from the Diocese.

The Vicar like a Rector is the spiritual leader of the Mission but with less authority since the mission comes more directly under the oversight of the Diocese

The Wardens (as above)

Mission Committee like vestry only has less authority

(Sub Committees)

The Diocese of Pennsylvania – covers the five county region i.e. Montgomery, Bucks, Chester, Philadelphia, Delaware. There are about 165 Parishes and Missions.

Local Organization

Rectors in the Episcopal Church. Rectors have a good deal of power – the foolish ones try to use it raw, the wise ones try to exert influence through love and the teaching and preaching of the gospel. It is important for rectors and Vestries to know their respective responsibilities. Many vestries are only too willing to allow the rector to do their work as well as his or hers; many rectors are only too willing to grasp tasks out of the hands of unsuspecting vestries in their bid to exert control. This does not mean that tasks will not be shared between rector and vestry, only that each has to know who is ultimately responsible for what.

The Rector is responsible for all worship in the Parish. He or she chooses the type of service, when it happens, and what happens within it. As a result the rector hires any other clergy and the organist. The rector is responsible for the spiritual life of the parish by teaching, preaching and pastoral care. These tasks can be shared with laity.

The Vestry has three primary responsibilities. To take care of the finances, the buildings, and to choose individuals to fill various positions of parish leadership other than the organist and assisting clergy. The latter task varies from Diocese to Diocese and Parish to Parish. For example, our parish elects at the Annual meeting its Diocesan representatives). Beyond these responsibilities vestries find that they have a wide variety of other duties

The Wardens. The only specific duty assigned to the ‘Churchwardens’ in the Canons is to notify the Bishop when a parish is without a rector. In our parish, as in most, there is a rector’s and accounting warden. The latter looks after the accounts, the former looks after the rector (well sort of)!

Sources of Authority in the Church

Obviously since we are called the Episcopal Church the focus of unity in any given Diocese is the Bishop. The ancient structure of governing the church is preserved although with a rather more top down emphasis than in the early church. The Bishop has authority within his or her Diocese.

The Bishop meets with his or her peers on a regular basis; also he or she attends National Convention. National Convention passes resolutions. The resolutions are purely those of the particular Convention, i.e. they have no lasting juridical impact on the church unless they become part of the Canons of the Church. Diocesan Convention can pass resolutions relating to the governing of the Diocese but these must be in accord with National Convention.

The Canons of the Church. Canon comes from a Greek word for measure, standard or rule. The Canons help define the church’s life in more detail. The are both National and Diocesan Canons.

The Book of Common Prayer. This book contains much of what it means to be Episcopalian. In it we find how to shape our year by reference to the liturgical cycle, how to shape our week by reference to the celebration of the Eucharist on the Lord’s Day, how to shape our days by reference to the Prayers for morning and evening and on other occasions, and how to comprehend and shape significant moments in life such as birth, marriage and death.

The Bible. The authority of Scripture is upheld by the Church in terms of how Scripture is used liturgically and what is said about it at the ordination services and in the Catechism.

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All Hallows Episcopal Church, Wyncote, PA 19095 - 215 885-1641