ANGLICAN CHURCHES. 



that of the bishops and archbishops, and 

 that of the clerical and lay delegates. In the 

 latter house the principle of voting by orders 

 was allowed. The bishops, as a separate order, 

 also Lad the power of voting separately when 

 they desired it ; but there was this limitation 

 to the power of their veto that it could not 

 stop a measure sanctioned by majorities of 

 both the other orders, unless seven of the 

 episcopal bench (there are twelve bishops in 

 all, including the two archbishops) were pres- 

 ent and concurred in a dissentient vote. 



Declaration. The statutes drawn up by 

 this Convention are preceded by a solemn pre- 

 amble and Declaration. The Declaration runs 

 in the name of "the archbishops and bishops 

 of this the ancient Catholic and Apostolic 

 Church of Ireland, together with the repre- 

 sentatives of the clergy and laity of the same 

 in General Convention assembled," and is as 

 follows : 



1. " The Church of Ireland doth, as heretofore, 

 accept and unfeignedly believe all the canonical 

 Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, as given 

 by inspiration of God, and containing all things ne- 

 cessary for salvation ; and doth continue to profess 

 tho faith of Christ as professed by the primitive 

 Church." 



2. " The Church of Ireland will continue to min- 

 ister the doctrine, and sacraments, and the discipline 

 of Christ as the Lord hath commanded, and will 

 maintain inviolate the three orders of bishops, 

 priests or presbyters, and deacons in the sacred 

 ministrv." 



3. "The Church of Ireland, as a Reformed and 

 Protestant Church, doth hereby reaffirm its constant 

 witness against ail those innovations in doctrine 

 and worship, whereby the primitive faith hath been 

 from time to time overlaid and defaced, and which 

 at the Eeformation this Church did disown and re- 

 ject." 



4. " The Church of Ireland doth receive and ap- 

 prove " the Book of Common Prayer and the Thirty- 

 nine Articles ; and " will continue to use the same, 

 subject to such alterations only as may be made 

 therein from time to time by the" lawful authority of 

 the Church." 



5. u The Church of Ireland will maintain com- 

 munion with the sister Church of England, and with 

 all other Christian Churches agreeing in the prin- 

 ciples of this Declaration ; and will set forward, as 

 far as in .it lieth, quietness, peace, and love, among 

 all Christian people." 



6. "The Church of Ireland, deriving its authority 

 from Christ, who is the Head over all things to the 

 Church, doth declare that a General Synod of the 

 Church of Ireland, consisting of the archbishops and 

 bishops, and of representatives of the clergy and 

 laity, shall have chief legislative power therein, and 

 such administrative power as may be necessary for 

 the Church, and consistent with its episcopal con- 

 stitution." 



The first statute, accordingly, relates to 

 The General Synod. 'the General Synod consists 

 of two Houses : the House of Bishops and the House 

 of Representatives. The House of Representatives 

 consists of 208 clergymen and 416 laymen, selected 

 by the clergy and laity in the Diocesan Synods. 

 The number of clergy sent from each diocese is in 

 proportion to the number in the diocese. The num- 

 ber of laity is determined by c, scheme which takes 

 into consideration both the number of parishes and 

 the Church population of the whole diocese. Any 

 clergyman of the Church in priest's orders may be 

 elected a clerical representative, whether he resides 



in the diocese or not. Any layman, aged twenty- 

 one, who is a member and communicant of the 

 Church, and who makes a solemn declaration to that 

 effect, is eligible as a lay representative. He need 

 not be a subscriber to the funds of the Church. A 

 clergyman not having a cure of souls, but being an 

 owner of property in the diocese, may be elected as 

 a representative of the laity therein. Both clerical 

 and lay representatives are elected for three years. 



The House of Bishops sits and deliberates along 

 with the House of Representatives, but has tho 

 power of withdrawing for separate deliberation. The 

 Bishops may let a measure pass without voting on it. 

 When they do vote they vote as a separate order, 

 and the clergy and laity have the same right which 

 they had in the Convention, of calling for a vote by 

 orders. Each order thus has a veto, but the veto of 

 the Bishops is not unlimited, though the limitation 



of the other orders, it passes^ unless two-thirds of 

 the Bench of Bishops vote against it. If two-thirds 

 of the whole Bench of Bishops are present and xote 

 against it, their veto holds good. 



The General Svnod is to meet in Dublin annually. 

 It has, as stated in the Declaration, chief legislative 

 power in the Church, and can " alter, amend, or ab- 

 rogate" any of the canons, " or make new canons." 

 The ordinary course of proceeding is by a first and 

 second reading, a discussion in committee, and a 

 third reading, and one clear day must elapse after tho 

 bill is reported before the third reading. This is the 

 ordinary course, but there is an important exception. 

 No modification or alteration can be made in the 

 "Articles, doctrines, rites, rubrics, or formularies" 

 of the Church, except after a resolution passed in full 

 Svnod, stating the nature of the proposed change. 

 Tliis resolution must be passed by majorities of at 

 least two-thirds of each order of representatives. It 

 must be communicated to all the Diocesan Synods at 

 their next meetings, and no bill on the subject can 

 be introduced into the General Synod until one year 

 has elapsed after the communication of the resolu- 

 tion to the Diocesan Synods. 



This extra course of procedure is not necessary in 

 the case of such smaller changes as may have been 

 "rendered necessary by the passing of the Irish 

 Church Act," as, for instance, expressions in the 

 State Prayers that are no longer suitable. And any 

 recommendation unanimously made by the English 

 Ritual Commission may be adopted without the de- 

 lay of a year, but must have the majorities of two- 

 tliircls in their favor. 



The Representative Church Body is a smaller body 

 than the General Synod, representing the whole 

 Church. It is incorporated by Act of Parliament to 

 hold property on benalf of the Church, which it ad- 

 ministers subject to the control of the General Synod. 

 It also acts generally as a standing committee of the 

 General Synod. This body consists of sixty mem- 

 bers, namely, the twelve bishops, one clergyman 

 and two laymen elected from each diocese, and twelve 

 other coopted members. The latter are added in 

 order to secure the appointment of some men whose 

 assistance would be most valuable, but who might 

 not be selected by any particular diocese. 



The Diocese, Diocesan. Svnod, and Council. There 

 are at present twelve bishops in the Church of Ire- 

 land. Each of these, with the exception _ of the 

 Bishop of Meath, presides over a union of dioceses. 

 These unions were made by the Act of 1834, which 

 reduced the number of bishops from twenty-two to 

 twelve. Many of them are too large or otherwise 

 inconvenient for episcopal superintendence and 

 united diocesan action ; and the diocese of Meath, 

 containing two counties and part of a third, lies so in- 

 conveniently with respect to railway communication, 

 that its Synod is held in two parts, one meeting at 

 Navan in the county Meath, and the other at Muliin- 



