A151 Amend Article II.4-8 of the Constitution
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That Article II.4-8 of the Constitution is hereby amended to read as follows:
ARTICLE II
Sec. 4. It shall be lawful for a Diocese, at the request of the Bishop of that Diocese, to elect not more than two Suffragan Bishops Suffragan, without right of succession, and with seat and vote in the House of Bishops. A Suffragan Bishop Suffragan shall be consecrated and hold office under such conditions and limitations other than those provided in this Article as may be provided by Canons of the General Convention. A Suffragan Bishop Suffragan shall be eligible for election as Bishop Diocesan or Bishop Coadjutor of a Diocese, or as a Bishop Suffragan in another Diocese.
Sec. 5. It shall be lawful for a Diocese to prescribe by the Constitution and Canons of such Diocese that upon the death, removal or deposition of the Bishop or if the Bishop resigns or is removed from office pursuant to Canon III.12.12(7), a Suffragan Bishop Suffragan of that Diocese may be placed in charge of such Diocese and become temporarily the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof serving as the Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore until such time as a new Bishop shall be chosen and consecrated; or that during the disability or absence of the Bishop, a Bishop Suffragan of that Diocese may be placed in charge of such diocese and become temporarily the Ecclesiastical Authority thereof serving as the Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore of the Diocese.
Sec. 6. A Bishop may not resign jurisdiction without the consent of the House of Bishops.
Sec. 7. It shall be lawful for the House of Bishops to elect a Suffragan Bishop Suffragan who, under the direction of the Presiding Bishop, shall be in charge of the work of those chaplains in the Armed Forces of the United States, Veterans’ Administration Medical Centers, and Federal Correctional Institutions who are ordained Ministers of this Church. The Suffragan Bishop Suffragan so elected shall be consecrated and hold office under such conditions and limitations other than those provided in this Article as may be provided by Canons of the General Convention. The Suffragan Bishop Suffragan shall be eligible for election as Bishop Diocesan, or Bishop Coadjutor or Suffragan Bishop Suffragan of a Diocese.
Sec. 8. A Bishop Diocesan or Coadjutor who has for at least five years next preceding exercised jurisdiction as the Ordinary, served as the Bishop Diocesan or as the Bishop Coadjutor, of a Diocese for any period of time, may be elected as Bishop Diocesan, Bishop Coadjutor, or Suffragan Bishop Suffragan of another Diocese only if five or more years have passed since the Bishop first served as Bishop Diocesan or Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese in which the Bishop is currently or last served as Bishop Diocesan or Bishop Coadjutor. Before acceptance of such election a resignation of jurisdiction in the Diocese in which the Bishop is then serving, conditioned on the required consents of the Bishops and Standing Committees of the Church to such election, shall be submitted to the House of Bishops, and also, if the Bishop be a Bishop Coadjutor, a renunciation of the right of succession. Such resignation, and renunciation of the right of succession in the case of a Bishop Coadjutor, shall require the consent of the House of Bishops.
Explanation
The amendments make the titles of bishops consistent throughout the Constitution and Canons. The amendment to Section 5 clarifies that a Bishop Suffragan may be placed in charge of a diocese and exercise jurisdiction as the Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore until a successor is consecrated if the Bishop Diocesan dies, resigns or is removed from office or until the Bishop Diocesan returns to office if the absence is temporary. The amendment to Section 8 clarifies that a total of five years of combined service, served consecutively, as Bishop Coadjutor and then Bishop Diocesan is required before the bishop may be elected elsewhere.