Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 6.djvu/359

Rh CONVOCATION 32U Convocation were continued for several days ; and from this time forth Convocation may be considered to have resumed its action as a consultative body, whilst it has also been permitted on more than one occasion to exercise its functions as a deliberative body. Its first action as a deliberative body commenced in 1861, in pursuance of a licence from the Crown granted to it upon its prayer, to amend the twenty- ninth of the canons of 1603 on the subject of sponsors at baptism. Its deliberations, however, on this subject have not yet been brought to a final conclusion. Both Houses came to an agreement as to the form of a canon to be substituted in place of the existing canon, and the Convoca tion of the province of York having consented to the amended canon, it was submitted to the Crown for its approval pursuant to the terms of the royal licence, under which the new canon could only acquire the validity of law by its confirmation under letters patent of the Crown. On this occasion, however, the new canon appeared to Her Majesty s Government to exceed in its terms the royal licence, and to be likely to cause greater perplexity to the clergy than the existing canon. It was accordingly sent back to the Convocation in 1865 for further amendment. The Upper House thereupon made a further amendment in the proposed form of canon, and sent it down to the Lower House for its concurrence, but the Lower House, in the Convocation of 1867, resolved to defer the consideration of the further amendment of the canon, until a committee, which has been appointed to consider the whole body of the canons of 1603 shall have made its report. This is a proceeding which cannot be considered of good augury to the Convocation as a deliberative body, seeing that the licence of the Crown to amend the particular canon was granted to Convocation at its own request. The proceed ings of the Convocation on the second occasion have been nded of more favourable augury. A royal licence was granted is of to the Convocation of 1865 in response to an address on its part to the Crown, authorizing it to make a new canon in the place of the thirty-sixth, and to amend the thirty- seventh and the thirty-eighth canons so as to be in harmony with the new canon, and also to amend the fortieth canon ; and certain alterations and amendments in those canons Laving been accordingly made by the Convocation of the province of Canterbury, and agreed to by the Convocation of the province of York under a similar licence from the Crown, tho royal assent was given to the amended canons in the Convocation of 1866. On this occasion the Convocations acted with becoming promptness and decision, as there was a pressing emergency for their co-operation with the Parliament in relieving the clergy from certain subscriptions and oaths, and in altering the forms of declarations to be made by them on their admission to office or benefice (28 and 29 Viet. c. 122.) With regard to the twenty-ninth canon there was no corresponding emergency, and it may be said of it, as of other canons which have been abrogated by custom &quot; ubi consuetudo loquitur, lex niauet sopita.&quot; It appears, however, that the report of the committee of the Lower House on the subject of an amended code of canons ecclesiastical was laid on the table of the Upper House in the session of 1874, but no further action has been taken upon it. r of The order of convening the Convocation of the province of Canter- sning bury is as follows. A writ issues from the Crown, addressed to the oca- metropolitan archbishop of Canterbury, commanding him &quot;by reason of certain difficult and urgent affairs concerning us, the secu rity and defence of our Church of England, and the peace and tran quillity, public good, and defence of our kingdom, and our subjects of the same, to call together with all convenient speed, and in lawful manner, the several bishops of the province of Canterbury, and deans of the cathedral churches, and also the archdeacons, chapters, and colleges, and the whole clergy of every diocese of the said province, to appear before the said metropolitan in the cathedral church of St 1 aul, London, on a certain day, or elsewhere, as shall seem most expedient, to treat of, agree to, and conclude upon the premises and other things, which to them shall then at the same place be more clearly explained on our behalf.&quot; In case the metropolitical see of Canterbury should be vacant, the writ of the Crown is addressed to the dean and chapter of the metropolitical church of Canterbury in simijar terms, as being the guardians of the spiritualities of the see during a vacancy. Thereupon the metropolitan, or as the case may be, the dean and chapter of the metropolitical church, issue a mandate to the bishop of London, as dean of the province, and if the bishopric of London should be vacant, then to the bishop of Winchester as subdean, which embodies the royal writ, and directs the bishop to cause all the bishops of the province to be cited, and through them the deans of the cathedral and collegiate churches, and the archdeacons and other dignitaries of churches, and each chapter by one, and the clergy of each diocese by two sufficient proctors, to appear before the metropolitan or his commissary, or, as the case may be, before the dean and chapter of the metropoliti cal church or their commissary, in the chapter-house of the cathe dral church of t Paul, London, if that place be named in tho mandate, or elsewhere, with continuation and prorogation of days next following, if that should be necessary, to treat upon arduous and weighty affairs, which shall concern the state and welfare, public good, and defence of this kingdom and the subjects thereof, to be then and there seriously laid before them, and to give theii good counsel and assistance on the said affairs, and to consent to such things as shall happen to be wholesomely ordered and ap pointed by their common advisement, for the honour of God and the good of the &quot;church. The provincial dean, or the subdean, as the case may be, there upon issues a citation to the several bishops of the province, which embodies the mandate of the metropolitan or of the dean and chap ter of the metropolitical church, as the case may be, and admonishes them to appear, and to cite and admonish their clergy, as specified in the metropolitical mandate, to appear at the time and place mentioned in the mandate. The bishops thereupon either summon directly the clergy of their respective dioceses to appear before them or their commissaries to elect two proctors, or they send a citation to their archdeacons, according to the custom of the diocese, direct ing them to summon the clergy of their respective archdeaconries to elect a proctor. The practice of each diocese in this matter is the law of the Convocation, and the practice varies indefinitely as regards the election of proctors to represent the beneh ced clergy. As regards the deans, the bishops send special writs to them to appear in person, and to cause their chapters to appear severally by one proctor. Writs also go to every archdeacon, and on the day named in the royal writ, which is always the day next following that named in the writ to summon the Parliament, the Convocation assembles in the place named in the archbishop s mandate. There upon, after the Litany has been sung or said, and a Latin sermon preached by a preacher appointed by the metropolitan, the clergy are prseconized or summoned by name to appear before the metro politan or his commissary ; after which the clergy of the Lower House are directed to withdraw and elect a prolocutor^ to be presented to the metropolitan for his approbation. The Convocation thus constituted resolves itself at its next meeting into two Houses, and it is in a fit state to proceed to business. The regular forms of pro ceeding have been carefully kept up in the Convocation of the pro vince of Canterbury, which consists of 20 bishops, exclusive of the metropolitan, 24 deans, 56 archdeacons, 23 proctors for the chapter clergy, and 42 proctors for the beneficed clergy. On the other hand, the proceedings of the Convocation of the Erovince of York have been less regular, and no prolocutor of the ower House of the Convocation appears to have been appointed since 1661, until the recent resuscitation of the Convocation as a consul tative body. Its constitution differs slightly from that of the Con vocation of the province of Canterbury, as each archdeaconry is re presented by two proctors, precisely as in Parliament formerly under the Pricmunientes clause. It consists of 6 bishops, including tho bishop of Sodor and Man and exclusive of the metropolitan, 6 deans, 15 archdeacons, 6 proctors of the chapter clergy, and 30 proctors for the beneficed clergy. There are some anomalies in the diocesan returns of the two Convocations, but in all such matters the consuetudo of the diocese is the governing rule. Bibliography. Wilkins, Concilia Magnx Britannia et Ilibernice, 4 vols. folio, 1737; Gibson, Codex Juris Ecclesiastici Anglicani,1 vols. folio, 1713; Johnson, A Collection of all the Ecclesiastical Laws, Canons, and Constitutions of the English Church, 2 vols. 8vo, 1720; Gibson, Synodus Anglicana, 8vo, 1702, re-edited by Dr Edward CardweU, 8vo, 1854; Shower, A Letter to a Convocation Man concerning the Rights, Powers, and Privileges of that Body, 4to, 1G97; Wake, The Authority of Christian Princes over their Ecclesiastical Synods asserted, occasioned by a late Pamphlet intituled A Letter to a Convocation Man, 8vo, 1697 ; AHerbuiy, The Rights, Powers, and Privileges of an English Convocation stated and vindicated in answer to a late boot of Dr Wake s, 8vo, 1700 ; Bun et, Reflections on a Hook in tituled The Rights, Powers, and Privileges of an English Convocation itatid and vindicated, 4to, 1700; Rennet, Ecclesiastical Synods and Parliamentary Convoca tions of the Church of England historically stated and justly vindicated from the Misrepresentation of Mr Alterbury, 8vo, 1701 ; Atterbury, The Power of the Lower House of Convocation to adjourn itself, 4to, 1701; Gibson, The Right of the Archbishop to continue or prorogue the whole Convocation, 4to, 1701 ; Rennet, The Case of the Prcemunientes, 4to, 1701 ; Hooper, The Narrative of the Lower House vindicated from the Exceptions of a Letter, intituled The Right of the VI. 42