Does an Archdeacon have a right to attend a PCC meeting and speak at it?

The rules governing meetings of the Parochial Church Council are set our in the Church Representation Rules. These can be bought from bookshops or Church House Publishing.

There is nothing to stop an Archdeacon arranging a meeting and inviting P.C.C. members to attend but this would not be a meeting of the P.C.C. as such and would not have the power to transact the business of hte P.C.C.

There are circumstances when an Archdeacon or Bishop have the legal right to meet with the P.C.C.

• In a vacany the Bishop can call for a 'vacancy meeting'. The patrons also have the right to call for such a meeting and if one is held all the interested parties must be invited to attend.  This meeting has a very specific purpose and if other business is to be handled then the normal rules governing the P.C.C. will apply to that part of the agenda.  It is up to the meeting to determine who is the chairman.

• One third of the lay members of the PCC or one tenth of the Electoral Roll can call on the Archdeacon to convene an extraordinary PCC or Parochial General meeting. The Archdeacon either chairs or appoints a chair.
  Rule 23(1) then states:
  ‘The chairman, not being otherwise entitled to attend such meeting, shall not be entitled to vote upon any resolution before the meeting.’

Under any other circumstances the Archdeacon has no right to attend the P.C.C. although he can be invited to do so for all or part of a meeting.