A171 Amend Canon III.13
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That Canon III.13 is hereby amended to read as follows:
CANON 13: Of Dioceses without Bishops
Sec. 1(a). Upon the death, resignation, deposition, or removal of a Bishop Diocesan, a Bishop Suffragan or Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese may serve as the Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore in accordance with Article II of the Constitution and the Constitution and Canons of the Diocese. If a Bishop Suffragan or Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese is not serving as its Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore, a A Diocese without a Bishop Diocesan may, by an act of its Convention, and in consultation with the Presiding Bishop, be placed under the provisional charge and authority of a Bishop of this Church of another Diocese or of a resigned Bishop of this Church, who shall by that act be authorized to serve as Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore and to exercise jurisdiction and carry out all the duties and offices of the Bishop Diocesan of the Diocese until a Bishop Diocesan is elected and ordained for that Diocese or until the act of the Convention is revoked.
Sec. 3. (b) A Diocese, while under the provisional charge of a Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore, shall not invite any other Bishop to visit and exercise episcopal acts or authority without the consent of the Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore in charge.
Sec. 2. Any Bishop may, on the invitation of the Convention or of the Standing Committee of any Diocese where there is no Bishop, visit and exercise episcopal offices, but shall not exercise jurisdiction, in that Diocese or any part of it as a Bishop Provisional for the Diocese. This invitation may shall include a letter of agreement, shall be for a stated period and may be revoked at any time. A Diocese may have more than one Bishop Provisional serving the Diocese, and in such case the respective duties and responsibilities of the Bishops Provisional shall be set forth in their letters of agreement.
Explanation
The amendment to Section 1 allows a diocese to have its Bishop Suffragan, Bishop Coadjutor or another Bishop serve as Bishop Diocesan Pro Tempore and exercise jurisdiction if the Bishop Diocesan dies or resigns. Some dioceses have had the Suffragan or other Bishop act in this capacity and this amendment provides a Canonical process for these options. Current Section 3 is moved to become Section 1(b), as amended. The amendment to Section 2 provides for a Bishop Provisional to serve for a stated period of time pursuant to a letter of agreement without exercising jurisdiction. Dioceses, especially ones covering a large geographic area, have the option to call more than one Bishop Provisional to ensure that the entire diocese is properly covered or to have one Bishop Provisional cover certain duties with another covers other duties.