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(1) |
It shall be lawful for the General Synod- |
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(a) |
to make provision by Canon with respect to worship in the
Church of England, including
provision for empowering the General Synod to approve, amend, continue or discontinue
forms of service; |
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(b) |
to make provision by Canon or regulations made thereunder
for any matter, except the publications of banns of matrimony,
to which any of the rubrics contained in the Book of Common
Prayer relate;
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but the powers of the General Synod under this
subsection shall be so exercised as to ensure that the forms
of service contained in the Book of Common Prayer continue
to be bavailable for use in the Church of England. |
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(2) |
Any Canon making any such provision as is mentioned in
subsection (1) of this section, and any regulations made
under any such Canon, shall have effect notwithstanding anything
inconsistent therewith contained in any of the rubrics in
the Book of Common Prayer. |
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(3) |
The General Synod shall provide by Canon-
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(a) |
that decisions as to which of the forms of service
authorised by or approved under Canon are to be used in any
church in a parish or in any guild church shall be taken
jointly by the incumbent and the parochial church council
or, as the case may be, by the vicar of the guild church
and the guild church council; and |
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(b) |
that in case of disagreement, and so long as the disagreement
continues, the forms of service to be used in that church
shall be those contained in the Book of Common Prayer unless
other forms of service so approved were in regular use therein
during at least two of the four years immediately preceding
the date when the disagreement arose and the said council
resolves that those other forms ofservice shall be used either
to the exclusion of, or in addition to, the forms of service
contained in the said Book. |
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This subsection shall not apply in relation
to a cathedral which is a parish church nor to any part of
a cathedral which is a parish church. |
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(4) |
Subsection (3) of this section shall not apply in relation
to any of the services known as occasional offices, but,
in the case of those services, other than the Order of Confirmation,
the General Synod shall provide by Canon that where more
than one form of service is authorised by or approved under
Canon for use on any occasion, the decision as to which form
of service is to be used shall be made by the minister who
is to conduct the service, but that if any of the persons
concerned objects beforehand to the use of the service selected
by the minister and he and the minister cannot agree as to
which form is to be used, the matter shall be referred to
the bishop of the diocese for his decision. |
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(5) |
Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1)
of this section, the General Synod may make provision by
Canon- |
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(a) |
for empowering the Convocations, the archbishops and
the bishops of dioceses to approve forms of service for use
on occasions for which no provision is made by forms of service
contained in the Book of Common Prayer or approved by the
General Synod or the Convocations under Canon; |
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(b) |
for empowering any minister to make and use minor variations
in the forms of service contained in the said Book or approved
by the General Synod, Convocation, archbishops or bishop
under Canon and to use forms of service considered suitable
by him on occasions for which no provision is made by any
such form of service. |
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(6) |
The General Synod may provide by Canon
that where a form of service is in course of preparation
with a view to its submission to the General Synod for approval
by the Synod under Canon, the archbishops may authorise that
service in draft form to be conducted by a minister in the
presence of a congregation consisting of such persons only
as the archbishops may designate.
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| (7) |
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In the prayers for or referring to the
Sovereign or other members of the Royal Family contained
in any form of service authorised for use in the Church of
England, the names may be altered, and any other necessary
alterations made, from time to time as the circumstances
require by Royal Warrant, and those prayers as so altered
shall be used thereafter. |
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| Assent or subscription to doctrine |
| 2 |
(1) |
It shall be lawful for the General Synod to
make provision by Canon with respect to the obligations ofthe
clergy, deaconesses and lay officers ofthe Church ofEngland
to assent or subscribe to the doctrine of that church and
the forms of that assent or subscription which may include
an explanatory preface. |
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(2) |
In this section 'lay officers' means licensed
lay workers, readers, lay judges or consistory or provincial
courts, and lay holders of other offices admission to which
is for the time being regulated by Canon. |
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| Majorities required for final approval of Canons
under section 1 or 2 and things done thereunder |
| 3. |
No Canon making any such provision as is mentioned
in section 1(1) or 2(1) of this Measure shall be submitted
for Her Majesty's Licence and Assent unless it has been finally
approved by the General Synod with a majority in each House
thereof of not less than two-thirds of those present and
voting; and no regulation under any Canon made under the
said section l(1) nor any approval, amendment, continuance
or discontinuance of a form of service by the General Synod
under any such Canon shall have effect unless the regulation,
the form of service or the amendment, continuance or discontinuance
of a form of service, as the case may be, has been finally
approved by the General Synod with such a majority as aforesaid
in each House thereof. |
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| Safeguarding of doctrine |
| 4. |
(1) |
Every Canon or regulation making any such provision as is mentioned in section
1(1) of this Measure, every form of service or amendment thereof approved by
the General Synod under any such Canon and every Canon making any such provision
as is mentioned in section 2(1) of this Measure shall be such as in the opinion
of the General Synod is neither contrary to, nor indicative of any departure
from, the doctrine of the Church of England in any essential matter |
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(2) |
The final approval by the General Synod of
any such Canon or regulation or form of service or amendment
thereof shall conclusively determine that the Synod is of
such opinion as aforesaid with respect to the matter so approved. |
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(3) |
Where provision is made by Canon by virtue
of section 1(5) of this Measure, the Canon shall provide
for requiring the forms of service and variations approved,
made or used thereunder to be neither contrary to, nor indicative
of any departure from, the doctrine of the Church of England
in any essential matter. |
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| Interpretation |
| 5 |
(1) |
References in this Measure to the doctrine
of the Church of England shall be construed in accordance
with the statement concerning that doctrine contained in
the Canons of the Church of England, which statement is in
the following terms: 'The doctrine of the Church of England
is gounded in the holy Scriptures, and in such teachings
of the ancient Fathers and Councils of the Church as are
agreeable to the said Scriptures. In particular such doctrine
is to be found in the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, the
Book of Common Prayer, and the Ordinal.'. |
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(2) |
In this Measure the following expressions have
the meanings hereby assigned to them:- |
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'the appointed day' means the day appointed
under section 7(2) of this Measure; |
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'Book of Common Prayer' means the Book annexed
to the Act of Uniformity 1662 and entitled 'The Book of Common
Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites
and Ceremonies of the Church according to the use of the
Church of England together with the Psalter or Psalms of
David appointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches
and the Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining and Consecrating
Bishops, Priests and Deacons', as altered or amended by any
Act or Measure or in accordance with section 1(7) of this
Measure; |
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'church' includes any building or part of a
building licensed by the bishop for public worship according
to the rites and ceremonies of the church of England; |
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'form of service' means any order, service,
prayer, rite or ceremony whatsoever, including the services
for the ordination of priests and deacons and the consecration
of bishops and the catechism or form of instruction before
confirmation; |
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'guild church' means a church in the City of
London designated and established as a guild church under
the City of London (Guild Churches) Acts 1952 and 1960; |
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'incumbent' includes- |
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(a) |
a curate licensed to the charge of a parish or a minister
acting as priest-in-charge of a parish in respect ofwhich
rights of presentation are suspended; and |
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(b) |
a vicar in a team ministry to the extent that the duties
of an incumbent are assigned to him by a scheme under the
Pastoral Measure 1968 or his licence from the bishop; |
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'rubrics' of the Book of Common Prayer include
all directions and instructions contained in the said Book,
and all tables, prefaces, rules, calendars and other contents
thereof. |
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| Amendments, repeals, transitional provisions and savings |
| 6. |
(1) |
Section 3 of the Submission of the Clergy Act
1533 (which provides that no Canons shall be contrary to
the Royal Prerogative or the customs, laws or statutes of
this realm) shall not apply to any rule of ecclesiastical
law relating to any matter for which provision may be made
by Canon in pursuance of this Measure. |
