Following the decision of the
Archbishop of Armagh not to proceed now to call a meeting of the
electoral college for the vacant United Dioceses of Tuam,
Killala and Achonry, the Gazette is aware of definite unease
among well placed and senior sources in the wider Church, on
constitutional grounds, over an electoral college being denied
at this time.
To this is added a sense of
unfairness to the United Dioceses, in that they are suddenly
being placed in something of a crisis situation as far as their
episcopal oversight is concerned, when relevant issues could
have been addressed at any stage in advance of a vacancy
arising.
The Archbishop's stance follows
the calling of a special General Synod, at the request of at
least the necessary number of bishops, for 5th March, in order
to allow for a prolonged vacancy and a review of Tuam's diocesan
situation.
A review would not have any
predetermined outcome, but could result in some new style of
episcopal ministry, or the United Dioceses facing amalgamation
with another diocese or dioceses, with no new bishop being
elected at all.
Either way, big issues would be up
for discussion and the implications for other dioceses in the
Church would be an unknown factor.
Although a review time-frame of
just over one year is being suggested, there is no guarantee
that the work would in fact be completed so quickly and a
further delay could be authorised by the central Church.
Regarding the Bishops' call for a
special General Synod, the Church has informed the Gazette: “The
bishops determined that this vacancy provides an opportunity for
members of the United Dioceses of Tuam, Killala and Achonry to
assess the requirements for episcopal ministry in the dioceses,
to ensure that effective episcopal oversight is provided.”
The statement also indicated that,
in requesting a special General Synod, the bishops believed that
“such assessment will benefit from participation by the wider
Church of Ireland”.
However, the relevant regulations
already provide that the composition of an electoral college
must involve considerable representation from the wider Church,
and the process of holding an electoral college itself provides
an opportunity for those involved to assess requirements.
The Constitution of the Church of
Ireland requires that, whenever a diocese becomes vacant, or is
about to become vacant, an electoral college shall be
constituted for the purpose of electing a bishop.
The
arrangements are to be made as soon as convenient for that
purpose. (Constitution, Ch VI. 3, 8[1]).
A spokesperson for the
Church told the Gazette that the Archbishop was not calling an
electoral college now “as to do so would conflict with the
legitimate constitutional request received from more than
one-third of the bishops to hold a special synod”.
While the Archbishop has told the
Gazette that he has been assured that the actions he was
required to take in calling a special General Synod were
“constitutionally appropriate”, the intervention of the bishops
in this manner, given the constitutional requirements, is bound
to be controversial.
Asked by the Gazette last week if
they were entirely satisfied that it was in accordance with the
provisions of the Constitution for an electoral college for Tuam
not to be called at this time, the Honorary Secretaries of the
General Synod replied that they felt it would not be
“appropriate” for them to respond, citing the grounds that the
question had not been raised by the Standing Committee.
However, an earlier official
Church statement, communicated to the Gazette on 29th January in
response to an enquiry from us, described the constitutional
requirement to convene an electoral college as “immediate”.