An Outline of an Anglican Life (Tarsitano, 1994)/Lesson Eight

This is the enhanced reading edition of Lesson Eight of Louis R. Tarsitano's An Outline of an Anglican Life: Lessons in the Faith and Practice of the Anglican Church (Classical Anglican Press, 1994), proofread against the printed text and presented with descriptive section headings, internal links, and editorial notes. Tarsitano's own words are retained throughout; editorial additions are clearly distinguished.

What Is Polity?

"Polity" is the form of governance of a society, nation, or Church. The word is derived from a series of Greek words that mean "a city" (as a basic unit of human governance beyond the family and home); "a citizen"; and "to act as a citizen, as a full member of a society." The word "police" shares this derivation, meaning both "the power to maintain order" and "the officers charged with the maintenance of order."

The purpose of any polity, therefore, is to maintain the foundational principles of a society (what we would call "religion," if speaking of an individual: those beliefs that are relied on to make sense out of life); and to maintain order according to those principles. Polities based on the Bible add the elements of the consent of the governed (as the image and likeness of God) and the duty of a society to serve its members by protecting their life, liberty, and property (according to the Commandments).

The basis of all Christian polity, whether civil or ecclesiastical, is the simple revealed fact that God is Lord and King of all (Psalm 24; Romans 13:1; Revelation 4:11, 19:16). At the bare minimum, a valid Christian polity must accept the Kingship of God and pledge its members to obey all of the revealed Word of God, including all his commandments. A valid polity, although administered by fallible men, is an outward and visible sign of the unlimited power and infallible authority of the Creator of the world (see Job 38-41, where God declares his power, and Job's answer, 42:2).

As Christians, we must admit that, "Here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (Hebrews 13:14). On earth, in this transitory world, our polities ("cities") are limited. Perfection is not possible until the Second Coming of Christ to judge the world. We remember and imitate Abraham, who "... looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God" (Hebrews 11:10). We seek our final citizenship in the Kingdom of God, and we form earthly polities, under God's guidance, to prepare us for the City of God (Hebrews 12:18,22-24).

We live by the Gospel, and we acknowledge that "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7).

Strictly speaking, we should differentiate between "power" (which belongs to God alone: Matthew 6:13) and "authority" (which among human beings is God's authorization or delegation of the use of his power to fulfill his purposes on earth). Our polities and our leaders have no power of their own. They are subject to God and exercise authority under his rule. Separate from God, they have no authority. If they seek power for themselves, they rebel against God and forfeit the lawful authority they once exercised (see Psalm 109:8; Acts 1:15-25).

Christians are definitely not anarchists, however. We are not a law unto ourselves. We honor those who have received God's authority (see 1 Peter 2:11-17). God's law binds us, not only to obedience to him, but to obedience to civil authorities (see Romans 13:1-7, where "power" translates the Greek word for "privilege" or "authority"). God's law also binds us to obey the leaders of his Church (Hebrews 13:17). And yet, our obedience to human leaders is not blind or unthinking (see Article XXXVII, "Of the Power of Civil Magistrates," BCP 610).

If a human authority commands that we commit sin, that is, that we disobey the revealed will of God in the Scriptures, then we are bound to disobey. When the Temple authorities ordered the Apostles to cease preaching Christ, they disobeyed and answered, "We ought to obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). A more recent example is the American Declaration of Independence. The Christian founders of our country did not reject the usurped authority of George III because it was inconvenient for them, or because they were seeking personal power, but because the King had acted contrary to God's law. In the Declaration they submitted their case for liberty to God's judgment, according to his commandments, to be tested in "trial by combat," if necessary.

We must also make certain to understand that true, righteous authority is never impersonal. All authority comes from the One whom our Lord taught us to call "Our Father." God is the Father before and without creation, because he is always the Father of the only-begotten Son. Human fatherhood is a vocation to exercise authority in the image and likeness of God, whose life is love. All righteous human authority is an image of God derived from his Fatherhood (see Hebrews 12:5-11).

When men exercise authority impersonally, without an effort to represent God's loving Fatherhood, it is unlawful and a sin (1 Timothy 5:1-2). And while the main vocation of women is in nurture and caring, when they exercise authority, it must be under the Fatherhood of God and in relation to his created order to be righteous (see 1 Timothy 2:11-15; Titus 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7).

The created order itself, in its original righteousness, is a work of the Father's love (see 1 Corinthians 14:33). God's plan of redemption includes not only the salvation of mankind, but also the restoration of the created order (Romans 8:19-23). When a woman exercises any authority normally reserved to men by the Scriptures, one of two explanations applies. Either her actions are a continuation of the sin of Eve (with its accompanying confusion of desires both to love and to rule her husband: Genesis 3:16). Or she acts as a part of a divine judgment against the failure of men to do their duty, with the ultimate goal of restoring the normative created order.

An example of the first case is the perversion of Solomon's religion by his pagan wives (1 Kings 11:1-8). An example of the second is the service of Deborah, who judges Israel, when that nation falls into sin (Judges 4:1-4). Her work as a prophetess, however, is to speak for God, recalling her people to obedience, and not to gain power for herself (or for her sex). She calls Barak to do his duty and to act as general of the army (Judges 4:6-10). Israel is saved by being restored to a right relationship with God. The Song of Deborah (Judges 5) explains that in the day of Israel's need, Deborah "arose a mother in Israel" (Judges 5:7). By God's grace and mercy, Deborah succeeds in fulfilling Eve's original vocation: she provides strength, courage, and comfort, for the sake of obedience to God (see Genesis 2:18). Her work done, she leaves the stage of Scriptural history.

A final note is appropriate here, on the ancient custom of referring to spiritual pastors by the title "father." As a custom, of course, it is not binding on the conscience of any Anglican. It is just as courteous to refer to Anglican clergymen as "Mister" (as they were called through much of our history) or "Doctor" (if that title of respect applies).

But most people's scruples about calling a minister "father" come from a misreading of Matthew 23:8-10, taken out of context:

Be ye not called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Christ is not forbidding courtesy, but chiding the Pharisees for their distortion of Biblical religion and their outrageous claims of authority for themselves. The word "rabbi" and the word "master" (from the Latin magister) both mean "teacher." The Pharisees were using these words, not in the sense of "one who dutifully teaches what he has received from God," but in the sense of the Hindu word "guru": "the one who is, in and of himself, the source of religious knowledge." The Pharisees were claiming that "true religion" came from themselves, from their sect, and not from God. Further, the Pharisees were claiming that the significance of Israel came from its human descent from "Father Abraham, rather than from God's Fatherhood and gracious call to be his chosen people (see John 8:51-59; and Luke 3:8, where John the Baptist makes the same point).

But here is the problem. Most of those who would not grant anyone permission to call his pastor "father," routinely refer to their own pastors as "mister" or "doctor" or "reverend," without a qualm of conscience. But "mister" is another form of "master"; and "doctor" is Latin for "teacher" or "rabbi. "Reverend" means "one who is to be revered for his office." "Sir" is short for "sire," or "father." Even "pastor" means "shepherd," and Christ alone is the Good Shepherd (John 10:14-16). If we take the position that these words are "set aside," along the lines of the pagan concept of the "taboo," then all titles of courtesy are forbidden, as is the routine use of any of these words for any other purpose.

God is not, however, a pagan god who teaches us "magic words" to conjure with. These words are lawful, just as any other words that are used in the sense of the Scriptures and under God's sovereignty as Father, Creator, and King of all. God himself teaches us, "Honor thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12; Matthew 15:4). St. Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, calls Abraham and Isaac our fathers in the faith (Romans 4:16; 9:10). Paul compares his ministry in the faith to the work of a father, and he calls Timothy and Titus his sons in the faith (1 Corinthians 4:15; 1 Thessalonians 2:11; 1 Timothy 1:2, 1:18; 2 Timothy 1:2, 2:1; Titus 1:4).

In addition, Paul counsels Timothy, "Rebuke not an elder, but intreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren" (1 Timothy 5:1). "Elder" translates the Greek word "presbyter" (from which comes the English word "priest"), here meaning perhaps both "those who are older" and "the ministry" (compare 1 Timothy 4:14; 5:17). St. John goes so far as to call the elders of the Church "fathers" (1 John 2:13-14).

These usages, upon which the custom of calling the ministry "father" is based (and arguably demonstrated), cannot be in opposition to "call no man father." God does not violate his own Word, nor does he send the Holy Ghost to teach his children to do so. God, unless he is not God, must understand his own commandments.

The purpose of this long illustration is not to compel anyone to act against his conscience, but to make this point: authority in the Church is derived from the Fatherhood of God, and not from abstract, impersonal principles. Church authority is a representation of the authority of God. It is wrong to make any human being a source of light and life, putting him in place of God. It is also wrong to erect a human, sectarian structure around any passage in the Bible, used as an abstraction, while blithely ignoring the rest of the Word of God. While it is right for Christians to contend for the truth of the faith (Jude 3), it is wrong for us to do so on any other basis than the whole of the Scriptures. Finally, honest differences on the customary application of the Word of God (if the Faith be kept entire, according to the standard of the Scriptures) are no reason for Christians to fail to treat one another as brethren: as children of the One Father in heaven.

What Is Canon Law?

We saw in Lesson Six, that a "canon" is a set of boundaries: a fixed and official list of what is included under the title "the Holy Scriptures." When the word "canon" is applied to the polity of the Church, as in "canon law," it means the Church's own law regarding what behavior and practices are acceptable according to the Church's doctrine and discipline, including the courts and procedures necessary to provide due process when someone is accused of an offense against the Church, and the punishments for those who are convicted of offenses. The body of such law is often called "the canons," and a particular Church law is called "a canon."

While each branch of the Church, each national Church within each branch, and each diocese has the right to adopt its own canon law (including the method for adopting and amending its canons), it must be clearly understood that no Church has the authority to legislate anything contrary to the Holy Scriptures (see Article XX, "Of the Authority of the Church," BCP 607).

The history of the canon law of the Church is rather complex, due to the fact that the Church is a two thousand year old mission from Jesus Christ to a variety of nations and cultures (see the Great Commission: Matthew 28:19-20). But while the circumstances and challenges that the Church faces may change, the Church's mission as the Body of Christ never changes: the glorification of God and the preaching of the Gospel. Thus, canon law must never be an end in itself, but only a means to faithful obedience to God.

The structure of the canon law of the American branches of the Anglican Church usually includes both a written constitution and the various canons themselves. The constitution lays out the basic principles of each branch's polity, and the canons implement that polity.

Must the Polities of All the Branches of Christ's Church Be Identical?

The specific provisions for the right governance of the Church may vary from place to place, as long as these provisions are made subject to the Holy Ghost and to the judgment of the whole Church. For example, the Holy Ghost led the Apostles and elders at the Council of Jerusalem to make different provisions for the governance of Jewish and Gentile Christians (see Acts 15 and Article XXXIV, "Of the Traditions of the Church," BCP 609-610). Any appeal to the Holy Ghost, however, must be consistent with the canonical Scriptures (see Galatians 1:8; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 John 4:1-3). Revelation is complete in Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Scriptures, so that there can be no private revelation or church law contrary to God's Word Written.

There are, furthermore, certain invariable elements that must be present in a valid church polity, since the Church is the Body of Christ, and that Body has a divinely revealed order (see 1 Corinthians 12, especially 26-31). Christ must be acknowledged as the Head of the Church (Colossians 1:18). The Holy Scriptures must be the basis of doctrine, discipline, and worship. No Church may impose anything contrary to the Word of God (see Article XX, BCP 607) — No Church may claim that salvation comes by obedience to its own man-made laws or customs, but only by Jesus Christ (see Acts 4:12; Acts 10:43; 1 Timothy 2:5; and Article XVIII, "Of obtaining eternal Salvation only by the Name of Christ," BCP 606). The ministry and governance of a Church must be founded on the inspired ministry and governance of Christ's Apostles, and follow their example (see Matthew 19:28, 28:16-20; John 20:21-23; Acts 1:12-2:4, 2:42, 15:1-2).

The Anglican application of these fixed elements to our Church life will be familiar to anyone acquainted with any part of the historic, catholic family of Churches. But the Anglican contribution to the expression of Christian polity is two-fold. First, when the need for reformation presents itself (as it does in the life of any Church or individual Christian), the Anglican practice is to draw on the entire body of experience of the Catholic Church, paying special attention to the Apostolic and undivided Church, doing our utmost to resist the "sectarian temptation." We honestly believe that the Body of Christ is "the blessed company of all faithful people" (BCP 83). We recognize that God's work is perfect, so that the Church on the day of Pentecost must have been perfect in its essentials and remains a guide for the Church in all times and all places.

Second, the Anglican Church possesses a distinct vision of the beauty of God's covenantal mercy on his Church. We prize the constitutional order that serves as the outward and visible sign of this inward and spiritual grace. We begin all our thinking with the Incarnation of Christ, who is the personal revelation of the loving (and lovely) order of the Divine Trinity.

As redeemed sinners, we may fail sometimes to live up to these vocational gifts from God; but it is their presence in our branch of the One Church that teaches us our failures and that guides us to repent and try again.

What Is the Basic Unit of the Polity of the Church?

The basic unit of the Church is the "congregation," a "group of people gathered" in Christ's Name (Matthew 18:20). At first, the whole Church (Greek ecclesia: those "called out" from the world by grace) was the congregation of the Apostles, disciples, and believers in Jerusalem (see Acts 1:15). But as Christ had promised, after the coming of the Holy Ghost, the Church began to grow through the preaching of the Gospel and missionary action (see Acts 1:8, Acts 2:41-42)

These congregations, founded by the Apostles and their helpers, were considered "local Churches": the body of the Church in a given place, usually the Church's mission in a city, taken as an exhibit of the whole of the Body of Christ. They could be called simply, "the Church in such and such a place," as in "the Church in Smyrna" (Revelation 2:8); or they could be addressed as, for example, "all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons" (Philippians 1:1).

In the New Testament, we read of the ministry of bishops (episkopos: "overseer," "chief pastor"); elders (presbyteros: "elder," from which we get "presbyter" and "priest"); and deacons (diakonos: "helper," "servant"). These ministers were ordained at first by the laying on of hands by the Apostles, and later by the chief pastors appointed by them (see Acts 6:6; Titus 1:5; 1 Timothy 4:14; and see the warning, 1 Timothy 5:22).

Some confusion enters any discussion of the ministers and polity of the Church because of the controversies that took place after the time of the Apostles. These controversies were usually the result of "legalism": the attempt to reduce the Gospel of Christ and the words of the Scriptures to a technical code of law, almost always after the pattern of a secular legal system.

For example, words are interpreted separately from the body of Scripture and bent out of shape, in order to fit a theory about polity. Some argue that "elder" means simply "someone who is older" in Greek, so that the word can't refer to the ministry. We know from the Scriptures, however, that this claim is untrue, since St. Paul advises Timothy, an elder and bishop at Ephesus, "Let no man despise thy youth" (1 Timothy 4:12). Clearly, "elder" can mean "an ordained minister," and not just "an older person." Others have claimed that "elder" refers only to "Church leaders in general," but we see in the Scriptures that while "elders" can refer both to lay-leaders and ordained ministers, a clear distinction is made between them (1 Timothy 5:17; compare Ephesians 4:11-12). One name for the pattern of organization described here is the present Anglican system of "Rector, Wardens, and Vestry" (see below).

Others have confused the issue of authority by trying to set the orders and offices of ministry against each other, as if the Scriptures allowed a competition among bishops, elders, and deacons for power. This mistake may be understandable, since fallen human beings do err (including the members of the ministry), but it is a mistake nevertheless, and it calls for reformation. Any reform of Church practice must be accomplished according to the pattern of the Scriptures; and in the Scriptures, the ministry of Christ is part of the coordinated order of all the Church, and not a struggle for power (1 Corinthians 12:4-6).

Christ declares to his Apostles that the Christian ministry is a life of service in imitation of his own ministry (Matthew 20:25-28; Luke 22:23-30). The order of the ministry found in the Scriptures acts out this commandment, as the ministers serve Christ and his people together. The deacons are specifically called to be "assistants" (as their title reveals) in the work of the entire Apostolic ministry. The difference between elders and bishops is only the difference between "pastors" and "chief pastors," as St. Peter demonstrates when he calls himself a "fellow elder" serving with the whole of the ministry under the Chief Pastorship of Christ (1 Peter 5:1-4).

St. Paul further demonstrates this point when he reminds St. Timothy that he received not only Paul's appointment (1 Timothy 1:3), but also the laying on of hands of the entire presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14). When a priest is ordained in the Anglican Church, it is still the practice that the other priests present (the presbytery) lay hands on him with the bishop (chief pastor). We also see that after St. Paul left St. Titus to be bishop of Crete, he charged him in a letter to ordain presbyters for each city as the seeds of new, complete local churches; and Paul followed this admonition by listing the requirements for those new churches' chief pastors (Titus 1:5-9).

The witness of the early Church agrees as well, not so much with the specific canon law of any particular branch of the Church, but with the pattern Church rules are meant to preserve and implement. The early Church compared the ministry of the New Testament to that of the Old, with the distinction that Christian ministers represent the one sacrifice of Christ and his servant ministry, rather than offering the temporary sacrifices of the Old Law. St. Clement of Rome (c. A.D. 95) described the Church as a Chosen People living together in a unified order: "To the high priest are given his special ministrations, a special place is preserved for the priests, and special duties are imposed on the levites, while the layman is bound by the ordinances concerning the laity (Epistle to the Corinthians, xl).

Just as the high priests, priests, and levites of the Old Testament were a united ministry drawn from a single priestly family, in the New Testament the threefold ministry of bishops, priests, and deacons is drawn from the priestly family of Christ, the Body of the Church. Just as the lay rulers of the Old Testament were drawn from the kingly family of David, in the New Testament the lay leaders are drawn from the kingly family of Christ, the Body of the Church (see Revelation 1:5-6). Just as in the Old Testament the various offices of service were not private property, but the vocation of whole families within one Chosen People; in the fulfillment of the New Testament, all ministries of service, all offices, are held on behalf of Christ and the one family of his New Israel, the Church.

Of course, the "lines of distinction" between bishops and elders/priests are blurry in the New Testament: Christ and his Apostles founded a Church, and not a bureaucracy with jealously guarded "job descriptions" and "turf." And arguing today about what to call "the elders" is simply not very useful: once we know that "priest" is a contraction of "presbyter"; once we remember that the ministerial priesthood ("elderhood") of the New Testament is the fulfillment in Christ of the ministry of the Old Testament; and once we remember that "minister" was a common synonym for "parish priest" well before the Reformation.

What Is a Parish?

A "parish" is a local Church, a congregation of Christ's Body. The word is derived from the Greek paroikia, meaning "a home away from home," "a temporary resting place," and "a way station for pilgrims." On earth, every Christian is a stranger and a pilgrim, away from his true home with Christ (see Psalm 39:12; 1 Peter 2:11). Our parish is not only our temporary, earthly home (as we wait to be united with Christ), but also the place where we offer Christ's hospitality to other strangers, that they may come to know him (Hebrews 13:2).

In the ancient Church, a parish was the jurisdiction or "cure" (from the Latin for "care," and used for "the cure/care of souls") of a bishop. This chief pastor led his parish with the assistance of the presbytery (the priests) and the deacons. The priests and deacons served not only at the meeting place of the parish, but throughout the vicinity. The purpose of this united ministry was twofold: to provide pastoral care to the members of the parish; and to found other self-sustaining parishes. Then the bishops, priests, and deacons of these new parishes would attempt to repeat the process. Their goal was the establishment of local churches (parishes) throughout the world, beginning with the closest unevangelized communities, in a daily application of Acts 1:8.

Today, a parish is usually under the pastoral care of a priest, called a "rector" (from the Latin for "a director," "one who guides in the right way"), although some parishes still have bishops for their rectors. Parishes enter into spiritual union with other parishes to form a diocese, under the chief pastorship of a bishop.

What Is a Diocese?

The word "diocese" comes from the Greek "to keep house," "to administer an area or region." As the membership of the Church grew, the ancient parochial (parish) system described above grew unwieldy. To coordinate the missionary and teaching work of the Church, the diocesan system was developed, literally to bring "good housekeeping" to the household of the Church. The diocese, which coordinates the work of the parishes, cares for their needs, and unites them spiritually in the common cause of Christ, became the normal cure for a bishop. This bishop is called "the diocesan" or "the bishop ordinary" (meaning "the bishop who maintains order"). The main authority of the diocesan bishop, in addition to the authority of his order to confirm and ordain, is called "visitation." Visitation is the bishop's duty to "care for all the churches" for which he is responsible to God as chief pastor by visiting them to make certain that they are teaching the faith of the Scriptures and doing the work of Christ (see 2 Corinthians 11:28).

It must be understood, however, that the diocesan system is only an expansion of the ancient Church's parochial system, and not its abandonment. For example, both dioceses and parishes can work to form new congregations of the Church, called diocesan or parochial "missions," until they become self-supporting parishes themselves. New dioceses are founded by the voluntary union of parishes, with the consent of the rest of the Church. Parishes choose their own pastors from the clergy of the Church, with the advice (and in some jurisdictions the consent) of the bishop. The clergy and people of the parishes that make up a diocese elect their chief pastor, with the advice and consent of the rest of the Church. Members of the clergy and laity are elected by the membership of the diocese to serve in councils of advice to the bishop.

Just as the bishop exercises the "ordinary" ("ordering") authority within his diocese, the rector exercises the "lesser ordinary" authority of the pastorate within his parish. As representative ministers of Christ, the bishop is the spiritual head on earth of the diocese; and the rector is the spiritual head on earth of the parish. Furthermore, the elections held to fill these ministries are not "democratic," in the technical sense of that word: "the rule of the people." Church elections are an expression of our constitutional interdependence and an effort to ascertain the will of God, who alone rules us as sovereign (see Acts 1:12-26).

Thus, parishes remain today the basic unit of the Church, entering into communion with one another in Christ to form a diocese. The several dioceses enter into communion with one another in Christ to form a national Church. National Churches enter into communion with other national Churches in Christ to form a "Communion," or a branch of the Church. The branches of the Church are in communion with Christ, who calls them out of the world, making them by his grace his one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church.

What Is a Synod?

A "synod" (from the Greek for "a meeting," "a coming together on the way") is an assembly of Church leaders, always including the bishops, to conduct the business of the Church. Depending on the jurisdiction, these meetings are also called "conventions" or "councils." The Apostolic Council of Jerusalem is the Scriptural model and pattern of all synods (see Acts 15:1-35).

In the Anglican Church, each diocese, province (group of dioceses), and national Church (sometimes also called "a province," since each national Church is only a part of the whole Church) has a regularly scheduled synod. The purpose of these synods (or conventions, or councils) is: to maintain order in the Church; to preserve true doctrine; to organize missionary and educational ministries; and to join in visible fellowship (communion).

At diocesan synods, the bishop ordinary presides, and the members are the clergy of the diocese, and the lay representatives (delegates) of the various parishes and missions. On certain important matters (such as the election of a bishop), the members of a diocesan synod "vote by orders"; that is, lay and clerical members cast separate ballots, which must concur. The diocesan synod elects a Standing Committee (and in some places an Executive Council) to advise the bishop and to conduct business between synods. In some jurisdictions (such as the Anglican Catholic Church), the bishop ordinary must give his consent to the decisions of the diocesan synod before they are enacted. Diocesan synods elect clerical and lay delegates (or deputies) to represent them at provincial or national synods.

Provincial and national synods are usually organized according to the orders of the Church. There may be separate "houses" for the bishops, the clergy, and the laity. Or the bishops may serve as an "upper house," and the clergy and laity may be combined into a "lower house" (analogous to the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States). However many "houses" there are, they must concur in any action. A bishop, called "the presiding bishop," "the primus," "the archbishop," or "the metropolitan," convenes and presides over the synod. Such synods are required to act in accordance with the Holy Scriptures and their own constitutions.

Are All Synods Regularly Scheduled?

No, since the needs of the Church are not always predictable. Some jurisdictions require that a special synod or convention be called to elect a bishop, whether a bishop ordinary or an assistant bishop. If the bishop to be elected to help the ordinary will automatically succeed him upon his death or retirement, he is called "a bishop coadjutor" (from the Latin "to help with"). If the assistant bishop will have no right of accession, he is called "a suffragan bishop" (from the Latin word "to vote" or "assist," since a suffragan is expected to support his ordinary with his presence and vote in other synods). The election of a bishop must be submitted to the other bishops and dioceses of the Church for their approval.

Another sort of synod, primarily of bishops, is called for emergency purposes: to answer specific challenges to the faith or well-being of the Church made either by heretics (false teachers) or non-believers. Such synods may be regional or general.

The greatest form of the synod is the General Council, to which the bishops of the entire Catholic Church are invited to discuss some great problem. Such a council is also called "ecumenical," from the Greek word for "household," since it is a meeting of the heads of the whole household of the Church.

No council or synod of the Church has any authority separate from Christ, the Holy Scriptures, and the Body of the Church. Synods are not human legislatures — but attempts to determine and enact God's will for his Church. The doctrinal decisions of a synod must be provable by the Holy Scriptures, and its disciplinary decisions must be conformable to them. The whole Church must be invited to a General Council, and the whole Church must recognize and ratify its actions.

There have been no General Councils since the Great Schism of 1054 (the formal separation or division of the Eastern and Western Churches). Until God in his mercy reunites his Church, no further General Councils are possible.

"The Church commonly recognizes up to seven councils as General: 1) Nicea I, in 325; 2) Constantinople I, in 381; 3) Ephesus, in 431; 4) Chalcedon, in 451; 5) Constantinople II, in 553; 6) Constantinople III, in 680-681; and 7) Nicaea II, in 787. The first four General Councils are of special authority within the Anglican Church. At the time of the Elizabethan reform of the rules governing the Church of England, the authority of those charged with investigating ecclesiastical abuses was limited in matters of doctrine to the Holy Scriptures and the teaching of the first four Councils.

What Is the Structure of an Anglican Parish?

An Anglican parish is governed by the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry. This board, sometimes called simply "the Vestry," is charged with the conduct of all parish business, under the provisions of the canons of the Church, the parish's by-laws, and its articles of incorporation (if any). If the parish is incorporated (as it should be), the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry are also the officers and board of the civil corporation. The Vestry determines budgets; the dispersal of funds; and the buying, selling, or mortgaging of parish property (consistent with the civil law regarding churches, corporations, and real estate).

The rector is the spiritual and corporate head of the parish. He is charged with the pastoral care and governance of the parish. He presides over meetings of the Vestry and of the entire Parish. He is solely responsible, under the law of the Church, for church services, sermons, Christian education, and church music. He has control of and access to all parish buildings and equipment. He is, by his office (ex officio), the head of all parish organizations. He may form or dissolve parish organizations as his conscience dictates, for the good of the parish. He keeps the parish registers and determines who is, and who is not, a member in good standing, subject only to an appeal to the diocesan bishop. He gives, or withholds, his approval of any candidates for holy orders from the parish. Every member of the parish staff, clerical or lay, paid or not, works for him and serves at his discretion.

Obviously, a rector bears a great deal of responsibility. The old English term for a rector is a "parson" (a form of "person"), meaning that "he is the person in charge" and "the person who acts for the Church in the community." The rector's authority is balanced and complemented by the authority of the lay leaders of the parish, the Wardens and the Vestrymen.

The two Wardens, either elected by the Parish Meeting, or appointed by the Rector (Senior Warden) and the lay members of the Vestry (Junior Warden), are basically "vice presidents." If it is necessary to have a Vestry meeting in the absence of the rector, one of the Wardens must preside. If the rector dies or resigns, the Wardens convene the Vestry to make provision for informing the bishop, for continuing the parish's work, and for calling a new rector.

The Wardens and Vestrymen together elect the rector, according to the canons of the Church, which usually require a Special Meeting of the Vestry for this purpose. After the bishop has been consulted, they issue "a letter of call" to the priest they have chosen. They must take this step very carefully, not only because they are choosing a pastor, but also because their letter, if the priest accepts its terms, becomes a legally binding contract on the parish. Furthermore, in most Anglican jurisdictions, a rector has tenure until age 72 (in some cases, lifetime tenure). He cannot be removed from office against his will, without a complicated process involving the bishop, the diocese, and (if need be) an ecclesiastical trial of fact (see "The Letter of Institution," BCP 569). Nor can the rector simply resign without the Vestry's consent.

The Wardens and Vestry must also decide whether to approve candidates for the ministry from their parish. The rector, wardens, and vestry choose a treasurer for the parish; and the Vestry must approve all expenditure of funds (except for the rector's discretionary fund). While the rector hires the employees of the parish, the Vestry must approve their salaries and benefits. The Vestry is responsible for the care and maintenance of parish property and equipment. The Vestry is responsible for raising funds for the parish, for missionary work, and for the support of the diocese. The Vestry is responsible for meeting any civil obligations of the parish. The Vestry also acts as the rector's council of advice (unless the canons provide for a separate Parish Council).

Most of all, what the Rector, Wardens, and Vestry must provide their parish is Christian leadership. Nothing else will do. If they do not work together humbly, under the judgment of Christ, they can reduce their parish to a state of paralysis, stunt its growth, or even destroy it. A final balance and complement to the Vestry's authority in the Anglican structure is the Parish Meeting.

The Parish Meeting convenes at least annually (the Annual Parish Meeting), and whenever a Special Meeting is called. Its members are all baptized members of the parish in good standing. Anglican canons will usually define "good standing" in terms of the "bounden duty" outlined in the Second Office of Instruction: "to follow Christ, to worship God every Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of his kingdom" (BCP 291). Those who have been admitted to the Holy Communion ("communicants"), and meet any other requirements of age and parish support, have voice and vote. All others have voice only.

The Parish Meeting is an opportunity for parishioners to express their Christian conscience. At the Parish Meeting, they elect the members of the Vestry, usually on a rotating system of partial "classes," so that the entire Vestry is not replaced at any one meeting. If the canons or their by-laws direct, they also elect the Wardens. The Parish Meeting elects its delegates and alternates to the diocesan synod, issuing them any instructions it wishes. At the Parish Meeting, the rector gives the members of the parish an accounting of his spiritual stewardship; and Vestry gives them an accounting of its temporal ("earthly," "physical") stewardship. Finally, the Parish Meeting deals with such other matters as can only be dealt with by the parish as a whole, such as its membership in a diocese.

What Is the Structure of a Mission Congregation?

The structure of a mission is similar to that of a parish. Since a mission's not self-supporting or recognized as a parish by the other parishes of its diocese* there are a few differences. The priest-in-charge of a mission is not its rector. He is called the "vicar" (from the Latin for "stand in") because he actually represents the bishop or rector responsible for the mission. While a vicar has the same spiritual authority as a rector, he exercises it at the discretion of his bishop or rector and does not have tenure. He is appointed by his bishop or rector, and is not elected.

In some Anglican jurisdictions, the "vestry" of a mission is called its "Bishop's Committee" or its "Rectors Committee," since it advises the bishop or priest responsible for the mission's cure of souls. The vicar does preside at its meetings, however, and at the mission's Annual Meeting.

Is Polity an End in Itself?

No. The purpose of polity is to maintain order in the Church according to God's Word, and to provide the organized human means for the accomplishment of the Church's work.

Editorial Notes

Source: Louis R. Tarsitano, An Outline of an Anglican Life (Classical Anglican Press, 1994). Reproduced on AnglicanWiki by permission of Classical Anglican Press.