The General Synod of the Church of England: A brief introduction to the issues

By Tom Mendelsohn
Notebook
Monday, 5 July 2010

The latest – and, arguably, the most important – meeting of the Church of England’s General Synod will start this Friday in York.

I may be speaking too soon on this one, considering the Synod’s history of prevarication and issue-dodging, but it’s looking likely that fireworks are on the agenda – this is one of the more eagerly (or bitterly, depending on your point of view) awaited sessions of recent times.

There is plenty of meat on the agenda, but the biggest issue at stake surely has to be the consecration of women bishops, one of the most divisive subjects ever to face the Anglican Communion, and one that could ultimately end in schism.

The General Synod of the Church of England meets three times a year, and issues such as this are discussed without fail during each session, but the reason this particular meeting is quite so important is that draft legislation on women bishops – the actual words that will inform Church practice – is due to be debated in its final form for the first time. The hope is that the wording will be agreed by vote, and that the new legislation can then enter the revision stage – the final stage before it is formally referred to the dioceses. the rest

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