The
Canons of the National Episcopal Church
ARTICLE 1
Of Acceding to the General Convention
The diocese acknowledges its
allegiance to be due the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church
of Christ, and recognizing the body known as the Protestant Episcopal
Church in the United States of America, otherwise known as the Episcopal
Church, to be a true branch of that church having rightful spiritual
jurisdiction in this country, hereby declares its adherence to the
same and accedes to its Constitution and Canons.
ARTICLE II
Of the Boundaries of the Diocese of Southeast Florida
The Diocese of Southeast Florida
includes Monroe, Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin Counties and
that portion of Hendry County lying east of the west line of range
32.5, east of the prime meridian at Tallahassee in the State of Florida
as these exist on October 26, 1973.
ARTICLE
III
Of Ecclesiastical Authority
The ecclesiastical authority of the diocese is the bishop. In the case of the bishop's absence or disability,
the bishop may, by instrument of writing, place in temporary charge
of the diocese as the ecclesiastical authority, the bishop coadjutor,
if there is one, a suffragan bishop, or the standing committee. If the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church,
under the canons of the General Convention, determines that the bishop
of this diocese is incapable of designating the bishop coadjutor,
if there is one, a suffragan bishop, or the Standing Committee as
the ecclesiastical authority, the suffragan bishops of this diocese
shall be included among the persons from whom the presiding bishop
may appoint the ecclesiastical authority.
Upon the death of the bishop, and if there is no bishop coadjutor,
the suffragan bishop having seniority in order of consecration, shall
be in charge of the diocese and become temporarily the ecclesiastical
authority until such time as a new bishop shall be chosen and consecrated.
If no bishop, bishop coadjutor, or suffragan bishop be qualified
and able to act, the ecclesiastical authority shall be the Standing
Committee.
Whenever in the constitution
or canons of this diocese provision is made for action by the bishop,
such action, except where otherwise specifically provided, shall be
taken by the ecclesiastical authority as herein defined.
ARTICLE
IV
Of the Annual Diocesan Convention
The convention of the church
of this diocese shall assemble annually at a specific date and place
as shall have been appointed by the previous annual convention; but
for sufficient cause the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese shall
have the power to change the time and/or place as emergency may require;
provided however, that at least ten days notice of such change shall
be given every vestry, every lay delegate, each dean, and to all canonically
resident members of the clergy.
ARTICLE
V
Of Special Meeting of the Convention
The ecclesiastical authority
shall have the power to call a special meeting of the convention at
such time and place as it shall determine.
The notice of a special meeting of the convention shall be
issued to each canonically resident member of the clergy, to each
lay convention delegate, and to each dean, at least thirty days prior
to the time appointed for the meeting, and shall specifically state
the business to be transacted; and no other business shall be transacted,
unless there is a two‑thirds consent of all the delegates voting.
ARTICLE
VI
Of Members of Convention
Section 1. The convention shall be composed of bishops,
certain clergy and lay persons of the diocese as provided in the following
sections of this article.
Section 2. Each canonically resident member of the clergy
who is responsible for the regular performance of sacerdotal or pastoral
functions shall have seat, voice and vote.
Section 3. Each congregation shall be entitled to two
lay delegates. Each congregation
in excess of 500 communicants shall be entitled to one additional
delegate. Lay delegates and alternates will be elected
by the congregation or vestry on or before January 31st for a term
of two years and will be certified to the diocese at that time. Delegates
shall be charged with the responsibility of making a report to the
congregation within thirty days following the convention.
Section 4. Each Diocesan Youth
Convention shall elect three of its members to serve as youth members
of the subsequent diocesan convention entitled to seat, voice and
vote. In cases when the diocesan convention votes
by orders, the youth members shall vote with the lay delegates to
the convention.
ARTICLE
VII
Of Divine Service at Meetings of the Convention
During the convention there shall be a celebration of the Holy Eucharist.
The direction of divine service during the sessions of the
convention shall rest with the bishop alone.
In the absence of the ordinary or another bishop so designated
by the ordinary, all such services shall be under the direction of
the president of the Standing Committee.
ARTICLE
VIII
Of the President of the Convention
Section 1. The bishop of the diocese shall be, ex officio,
president of the convention, with full ecclesiastical authority, but
in the case of his absence at the time and place appointed for any
session of the convention, and in the absence of the bishop coadjutor
and suffragan bishops, the president or other clerical member of the
Standing Committee shall call the convention to order and, if a quorum
be present, a presiding officer shall be chosen, as interim, from
among the members in attendance; and if the bishop at any time leaves
the chair, he may appoint a member to preside in his stead.
Section 2. The president shall be entitled to one vote
and, in the case of a tie vote, to the deciding vote. He shall not vote in the election of officers, committees, deputies,
or other representatives of the convention.
ARTICLE IX
Of
Quorum and Methods of Voting in the Convention
Section 1. A majority of the clergy entitled to vote
in the convention, and lay delegates from a majority of the congregations
entitled to representation, when duly assembled, shall constitute
a quorum for the transaction of business, but a smaller number may
adjourn from time to time.
Section 2. The clergy and laity shall deliberate in one
body. Every member shall be entitled to one vote, and, except when
otherwise expressly provided, a majority of all the votes cast shall
determine any question submitted to the convention.
Section 3. If any ten members of the convention, representing
no fewer than six congregations, or any ten members of the clergy
shall call for a vote by yea and nay, the secretary shall call the
roll of the convention, and the members shall thereupon announce their
votes as their names are called by the secretary.
The votes so cast shall be recorded in the journal, and no
members shall be excused from voting, unless by unanimous consent.
Section 4. If any ten members of the convention, representing
no fewer than six congregations or any ten members of the clergy,
shall demand a vote by orders, the vote of the clergy and lay delegates
shall be taken separately, and majority of the votes of each order
shall be necessary for an affirmative decision.
ARTICLE X
Of the Secretary, Treasurer and Historian of the Diocese
Section 1. There shall be a secretary, treasurer, and
historian whose appointment and duties shall be defined by canon.
Section 2. At any time in the interval between two annual
conventions the Standing Committee may for sufficient cause, of which
they shall be the judges, remove the secretary or the treasurer from
office; and in such case, or if the secretary or the treasurer die,
resign, remove from the diocese, or become incapable of acting, the
Standing Committee shall have the power to appoint a secretary or
treasurer to act until the next annual convention.
ARTICLE XI
Of the Chancellor of the Diocese
At each annual convention the
bishop shall appoint a chancellor learned in the law, subject to ratification
by convention, who shall be the legal advisor of the diocese. He shall
be a communicant of this church and shall be entitled, ex officio,
to a seat in the convention, with all the privileges of membership. The bishop may also appoint a vice chancellor
with the same qualifications as the chancellor, who, in the absence
or inability of the chancellor, shall perform the duties of the office. The bishop may appoint other vice chancellors
as the need may require, who shall be entitled ex officio, to seat
in the convention with all the privileges of membership, except the
right to vote. Such appointments
shall be subject to ratification by convention.
ARTICLE XII
Of Deputies to the General Convention
Section 1. At the annual convention in the calendar year
following that of the regular meeting of the General Convention, four
clerical and four lay deputies and four clerical and four lay alternate
deputies shall be elected to the General Convention, who shall hold
office for three years. The
term of office of all deputies and alternate deputies (including deputies
and alternate deputies elected prior to the amendment of this section)
shall expire upon the election of deputies and alternate deputies
pursuant to this section.
Section 2. If any deputy elected discovers his inability
to attend the General Convention, he shall immediately notify the
ecclesiastical authority of such inability.
It shall be the duty of such authority to fill a vacancy for
this, or any other cause, up to the time of the meeting of the General
Convention, from the list of alternate deputies.
In each order the first alternate deputy shall be the person
elected first as an alternate.
Section 3. Any vacancy in a deputation to any General
Convention existing at the time of its meeting, or occurring during
its sessions, or at any special session, may be supplied by the concurrent
votes of the remaining deputies from the list of alternate deputies,
if practicable; if not, then from other qualified members of the diocese.
ARTICLE XIII
Of the Standing Committee
Section 1. The Standing Committee shall consist of four
members of the clergy, one of whom may be a deacon and four lay persons. The convention shall elect annually one or
two members of the clergy and one or two lay persons for a term of
three years, by concurrent ballot of both orders.
Members may not succeed themselves.
Section 2. The clerical members of the Standing Committee
must be entitled to seats in the convention of the diocese, and lay
members must be communicants of the church domiciled in the diocese.
Section 3. The committee, at its first meeting, shall
choose a president from among the priests, and a secretary, either
clerical or lay, who shall keep a full record of all transactions
of the committee. The records of the Standing Committee, and
all papers in their official possession, shall be subject at all times
to the examination of the bishop and of the convention. A full report of its acts shall be made at each annual meeting of
the convention. Four members
of the committee shall be a quorum for the transaction of business. Vacancies in the Standing Committee, occurring
by death or otherwise, may be filled by the committee.
Section 4. The standing committee shall be a council of
advice to the bishop. The
committee shall be summoned by the bishop whenever he shall desire
its advice, and the committee may, of its own accord, advise the bishop
when the committee thinks it needful so to do.
All proceedings of the Standing Committee, when acting as council
of advice to the bishop shall be strictly confidential, unless the
bishop and committee shall otherwise determine.
Section 5. The lay members of the Standing Committee shall
be entitled to all the privileges of membership in the convention
except the right to vote.
ARTICLE XIV
Of the Election of Officers
The election of all officers
provided for in this constitution and canons shall be by ballot and,
in the event of a failure or neglect to elect at any convention, the
person or persons already in office shall hold over until their successors
shall have been regularly elected and qualified.
A majority of votes shall be necessary to elect.
ARTICLE XV
Of the Admission of New Congregations
The convention may admit congregations
into union with it, provided they shall have presented to the convention
evidence of their compliance with the canon(s) concerning the organization
of congregations.
ARTICLE XVI
Of the Forfeiture of Parochial Privileges
Any congregation may, for causes
specified by canon, be suspended from representation in the convention
or its connection with the convention wholly dissolved, by a vote
of two‑thirds of those present.
The convention may also provide by canon for the readmission
into the union with it of any such congregation.
The suspension aforesaid shall not absolve the congregation
from its obligations to the convention or diocese.
ARTICLE XVII
Of the Election of a Bishop
The election of a bishop shall be made in an annual convention, or in
a special convention called by the ecclesiastical authority for that
purpose: and of the meeting of such special convention at least thirty
days notice shall be given. To
the choice of a bishop the concurrent vote, by ballot, of a majority
of the clergy and of the lay members present in the convention, voting
separately, shall be necessary.
ARTICLE
XVIII
Of the Cathedral and Other Institutions
Section 1. The church in the
diocese of Southeast Florida hereby acknowledges "Trinity Episcopal
Cathedral," Miami, Florida, as the cathedral church of this diocese
with the same legal and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, rights, privileges
and obligations as any other congregation in union with the convention.
Section 2. The principal institution
of the diocese shall be known as the executive board.
ARTICLE XIX
Of Defects and Insufficiency in the Canons
All necessary proceedings connected
with matters of discipline and not expressly provided for by the canons,
are within the authority and jurisdiction of the bishop, acting by
and with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee.
ARTICLE
XX
Of Amendments To This Constitution
This constitution may be amended
by the convention of this diocese by a two-thirds vote of both orders,
voting separately. a proposed
amendment shall have been submitted to and approved by the previous
annual convention. A proposed
amendment must be submitted in writing to the committee on Constitution
and Canons not less than ninety (90) days prior to the annual convention
at which it will be presented for the first vote.
Amendments must be submitted to all delegates at least thirty
days prior to the annual convention.
The secretary of the diocese
shall be authorized to correct article and section designations, punctuation
and cross-references and to make such other technical changes to the
constitution as may be necessary.
CANONS OF THE
DIOCESE OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDA
(Revised 1999)
CANON I . Of the Diocesan
Convention.
CANON II. Of Evidence
of Lay Membership in the Convention.
CANON III. Of the Secretary
of the Diocese.
CANON IV. Of Resolutions
to the Convention.
CANON V. Of Elections.
CANON VI. Of the Treasurer
of the Diocese.
CANON VII Of the Executive
Board.
CANON VIII Of the Cathedral.
CANON IX. Of the Deaneries.
CANON X Of
Ministry to Higher Education and Campus Church Centers.
CANON XI. Of Congregations.
CANON XII. Of Diocesan Assessments.
CANON XIII. Of Rectors and Other Ministers.
CANON XIV. Of Wardens, Vestrymen, and Electors.
CANON XV. Of Parochial Registers and Reports.
CANON XVI. Of
the Establishment of New Congregations and Relocations.
CANON XVII. Of Ecclesiastical Discipline.
CANON XVIII. Of the Church Pension
Fund.
CANON XIX. Of the Committee
on Constitution and Canons.
CANON XX. Of Business Methods.
CANON XXI. Of the Commission
on Ministry.
CANON XXII. Of the State of
the Church.
CANON XXIII. Of Schools.
CANON XXIV Of Church Architecture.
CANON XXV Of the Historian.
CANON XXVI Of Terminology used
in these Canons.
CANON XXVII Of Alterations and
Amendments.
CANON XXVIII Of Rules of Order
