Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1871.djvu/245

 CHURCH AXD EDUCATION.

Church and Education.

209

The Established Church of England is Protestant Episcopal. Its fundamental doctrines and tenets are embodied in the Thirty-nine Articles, agreed upon in Convocation in 1562, and revised and finally settled in 1571. But though the Episcopal is the State religion, all others are fully tolerated, and civil disabilities do not attach to any class of British subjects.

The Queen is by law the supreme governor of the Church, possess- ing the right, regulated by the 4th section of the statute 25 Hen. VIII. c. 20, to nominate to the vacant archbishoprics and bishoprics, the form being to send to the dean and chapter of the vacant see the royal licence, or conge cFelire, to proceed to the election, accompanied by the Queen's letter naming the person to be elected ; and after- wards the royal assent and confirmation of the appointment is signified under the Great Seal. But this form applies only to the sees of old foundation ; the bishoprics of Gloucester and Bristol Chester, Peterborough, Oxford, Ripon, and Manchester, are conferred direct by letters patent from the Crown. The Queen, and the First Lord of the Treasury in her name, also appoints to such deaneries prebendaries, and canonries as are in the gift of the Crown.

There are 2 archbishops and 26 bishops in England. The former are the chiefs of the clergy in their provinces, and have within them the inspection of the bishops, as well as of the inferior clergy, for which purpose they undertake visitations, which are now, however, practi- cally episcopal, not archiepiscopal, and made only as bishops within their own dioceses. They have, assisted by at least two other bishops, the confirmation and consecration of the bishops. They have also each his own particular diocese, wherein they exercise episcopal, as in their provinces they exercise archiepiscopal, jurisdic- tion. For the management of ecclesiastical affairs, the provinces have each a council, or convocation, consisting of the bishops, archdeacons and deans, in person, and of a certain number of proctors, as the representatives of the inferior clergy, each chapter, in both provinces, sending one, and the parochial clergy of each diocese in the province of Canterbury, and of each archdeaconry in the province of York sending two. These councils are summoned by the respective arch- bishops, in pursuance of the Queen's mandate. When assembled, they must also have the Queen's licence before they can deliberate ; as well as the sanction of the Crown to their resolutions, before they are binding on the clergy. In the province of Canterbury, the Con- vocation forms two Houses; the archbishop and bishops sitting together in the Upper House, and the inferior clergy in the Lower. In the province of York, all sit together in one House.

England is distributed into 200 extra-parochial places, and about 12,000 parishes. In every parish there is a parish church,