The Diocese of Springfield Canons
As Amended, Adopted, and Codified, to and including Amendments Adopted by the Regular Synod of 2011.
V DISCIPLINE
Canon
- Of the Trial of a Clergyman Not Being a Bishop
- Of Contempts
- Of the Due Celebration of the Lord's Day
- Of Members of the Church
- Of Offenses for which Communicants are Liable
- Of the Transfer of Members
- Of Communicants Who Neglect the Holy Communion
- Of Complaint on Repulsion
Of the Trial and Discipline of a Member of the Clergy Not Being a Bishop
Section 1.
Those provisions of TitleIV of the Canons of the General Convention of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (“the Episcopal Church”) which are applicable to the Diocese are hereby incorporated as part of this Canon. To the extent that any of the provisions of this Canon are in conflict or inconsistent with the provisions of TitleIV, the provisions of TitleIV shall govern.
Section 2.
- Disciplinary Board. The Board shall consist of seven persons, four of whom shall be members of the Clergy and three of whom shall be Laity. Members of the Standing Committee are not eligible for service on the Disciplinary Board.
- Clergy Members. The Clergy members of the Board must be canonically resident within the Diocese.
- Lay Members. The Lay members of the Board shall be adult Communicants in good standing of a congregation within the Diocese of Springfield.
- Election. The members of the Board shall be elected by the regular Synod. Each member shall be elected for a three(3)-year term; except, if a member is elected to fill a vacancy, the term of such member shall be the unexpired term of the member being replaced. The term of the member shall commence upon the election of that member to the Board. The terms of office of the Board shall be staggered and arranged into three classes.
- Implementation. In order to implement Section 2, subsection d, above, and Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention, the following procedure shall be employed: Immediately upon adoption of these canons by the Synod, all persons serving terms on the Ecclesiastical Trial Court at the time of said adoption shall become members of the Disciplinary Board. The term of service for each new member of the Disciplinary Board shall be concurrent with the term on the Ecclesiastical Trial Court which that member was serving at the time of the adoption of this Canon. The Ecclesiastical Trial Court shall be dissolved immediately upon adoption of this Canon, with no further action required by the Synod to effectuate that dissolution.
- Vacancies. Vacancies on the Board shall be filled as follows:
- Upon the determination that a vacancy exists, the President of the Board shall notify the Bishop of the vacancy and request appointment of a replacement member of the same order as the member to be replaced.
2. The Bishop shall appoint a replacement Board member with the advice and consent of the Diocesan Council.
3. Persons appointed to fill vacancies on the Board shall meet the same eligibility requirements as apply to elected Board members.
4. With respect to a vacancy created for any reason other than pursuant to a challenge as provided below, the term of any person selected as a replacement Board member shall be until the next regular Synod. With respect to a vacancy resulting from a challenge, the replacement Board member shall serve only for the proceedings for which the elected Board member is not serving as a result of the challenge.
Preserving Impartiality. In any proceeding under this Canon, if any member of a Conference Panel or Hearing Panel of the Board shall become aware of a personal conflict of interest or undue bias, that member shall immediately notify the President of the Board and request a replacement member of the Panel. Respondent’s Counsel and the Church Attorney shall have the right to challenge any member of a Panel for conflict of interest or undue bias by motion to the Panel for disqualification of the challenged member. The members of the Panel not the subjects of the challenge shall promptly consider the motion and determine whether the challenged Panel member shall be disqualified from participating in that proceeding.
President. Following each regular Synod, the Board shall convene as early as practicable to elect a President to serve for the following calendar year.
- Intake Officer. The Intake Officer shall be appointed from time to time by the Bishop after consultation with the Board. The Bishop may appoint one or more Intake Officers according to the needs of the Diocese. The Bishop shall publish the name(s) and contact information of the Intake Officer(s) throughout the Diocese.
- Investigator. The Bishop shall appoint an Investigator in consultation with the President of the Board. The Investigator may, but need not, be a Member of the Church.
- Church Attorney. Following each regular Synod, the Bishop shall, as soon as practicable and in consultation with the Standing Committee, appoint an attorney to serve as Church Attorney to serve for the following calendar year. The person so selected must be a Member of the Church and a duly licensed attorney, but need not reside within the Diocese.
- Pastoral Response Coordinator. The Bishop may appoint a Pastoral Response Coordinator, to serve at the will of the Bishop in coordinating the delivery of appropriate pastoral responses provided for in TitleIV.8 of the Canons of the General Convention, and of this Canon. The Pastoral Response Coordinator may be the Intake Officer, but shall not be a person serving in any other appointed or elected capacity under this Canon.
- Advisors. In each proceeding under this Canon, the Bishop shall appoint an Advisor for the Complainant and an Advisor for the Respondent. Persons serving as Advisors shall hold no other appointed or elected position provided for under this Canon, and shall not include chancellors or vice chancellors of this Diocese, or any person likely to be called as a witness in the proceeding.
- Clerk. The Board shall appoint a Board Clerk to assist the Board with records management and administrative support. The Clerk may be a member of the Board.
Section 3
The reasonable costs and expenses of the Board, the Intake Officer, the Investigator, the Church Attorney, the Board Clerk and the Pastoral Response Coordinator shall be the obligation of the Diocese , subject to budgetary constraints as may be established by the Synod and Diocesan Council. In the event of a final Order dismissing the complaint, or by provisions of a Covenant approved by the Bishop, the reasonable defense fees and costs incurred by the Respondent may be paid or reimbursed by the Diocese, subject to budgetary constraints as may be established by the Synod and the Diocesan Council.
Section 4.
- Records of Proceedings Records of active proceedings before the Board, including the period of any pending appeal, shall be preserved and maintained in the custody of the Clerk, if there be one, otherwise by the Diocesan offices, under the direction of the Historiographer.
- Permanent Records. The Bishop shall make provision for the permanent storage of records of all proceedings under this Title at the Diocesan office, under the direction of the Historiographer, and the Archives of the Episcopal Church, as prescribed in TitleIV of the Canons of the General Convention.
Section 5.
All proceedings convened under this Canon, or in accordance with Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention, shall proceed within the geographic area of the Diocese, and at a place convenient to the residence of all interested parties.
Section 6. No hearing convened under this Canon, or in accordance with Title IV of the Canons of the General Convention, shall proceed with less than thirty days’ written notice to the Respondent, the Respondent’s Attorney, and all Complainants and Complainant’s Attorneys. Notice shall be considered to be effective upon any of the following: personal delivery; delivery to a person’s residence or regular place of business; or the mailing of such notice via U.S. Postal Service, or any commercial courier service to a person’s residence and/or regular business address. Notice by U.S. Postal Service or commercial courier service shall be considered to be effective four days after mailing.
Section 7. To the extent not inconsistent with provisions of Title IV of the Canons of General Convention of the Episcopal Church, all proceedings of the Hearing Board shall be governed by the Illinois Supreme Court Rules and the Illinois Code of Civil Procedure. All public hearings of the Hearing Board shall be recorded by a method to be selected by the Disciplinary Board.
Section 8. This Canon shall become effective upon adoption by the Synod.
Of Contempts
Section 1.
If any Minister or communicant of this Church, who shall be subpoenaed to attend as a witness before the Board of Inquiry, provided for in Canons of this Diocese, or before a Court constituted under said Canons, shall, without sufficient excuse, neglect to obey the subpoena, or being present shall refuse to testify, or to be sworn or affirmed, such person may be declared guilty of contempt, and of violation of godly discipline.
Section 2.
If any advocate or proctor engaged in any proceedings before a Court of this Diocese shall be guilty of contempt of Court, he shall no longer be allowed to appear before such tribunal, except at the option of the Court.
Section 3.
The Bishop, or President of any Court, organized under the Canons of this Diocese, shall be the judge of any contempt committed against the same, and may administer punishment therefor, or may institute proceedings looking to such punishment, at the option of the Court.
Of the Due Celebration of the Lord's Day
It is the duty of all persons within the Church to hallow and keep the Lord's Day, commonly called Sunday, by regular participation in the public worship of the Church, by receiving the Holy Communion, by hearing the Word of God read and taught, by private and public prayer, by other exercises of devotion, and by works of charity, using all godly and sober conversation, and abstaining as much as possible from common secular business and employments.
Of Members of the Church
Section 1.
All persons who have received the sacrament of Holy Baptism with water, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, whether in this Church or in another Christian Church, and whose Baptisms have been duly recorded in this Church, are members thereof.
Section 2.
All members of this Church who have received Holy Communion in this Church at least three times during the preceding year are to be considered communicants of this Church.
Section 3.
All communicants of this Church who for the previous year have been faithful in corporate worship, unless for good cause prevented, and have been faithful in working, praying and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God, are to be considered communicants in good standing.
Section 4.
Communicants sixteen years of age or older are to be considered adult communicants.
Of Offenses for Which Communicants are Liable
Every communicant of this Church shall be liable to discipline for the following offenses.
a. Open and notorious evil living.
b. Crime and immorality.
c. Any wickedness of life by which their brethren are offended.
d. Doing wrongs to neighbors by word or deed so that the congregation be thereby offended.
e. Living in habitual disuse of Public Worship, or of the Holy Eucharist, according to the offices of this Church.
f. Contempt of godly discipline.
Of the Transfer of Members
Section 1.
A communicant or baptized member of this Church, changing, by removal or otherwise, his or her parochial connection, shall present a certificate from the minister of the Parish or Mission of his or her last residence, or if there be no Minister, from one of the Wardens, stating that he or she is a communicant or baptized member in good standing; and the Minister of the Parish or Mission into which such person removes shall not record his or her name on the Parish or Mission list until such letter of commendation shall be delivered or a satisfactory reason be given why the same cannot be obtained.
Section 2.
It is made the duty of every communicant or baptized member by the Canon of the General Convention, to apply, on removal, for a certificate of his or her standing. This certificate may be given the form following, or in such form as may indicate the true standing and character:
"I hereby certify that A. B., who has signified to me his or her desire to be transferred to the Parish of ________________________ is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States, and has been a communicant or baptized member in good standing for ________ years last past in the Parish (or Mission) of ____________________________ and as such is affectionately commended to the charge of ____________________ as his or her Pastor in the Church of God.
This certificate, if not presented within six months from date, may be held to be void, and it is not to be used as a general testimonial
Signed,
Rector or Minister or Warden-if there be no Rector or Minister
Dated __________________
Of Communicants Who Neglect the Holy Communion
Section 1.
If the Minister of the Parish or Mission shall observe any communicant of the same to be irregular or negligent in coming to the Holy Communion, it shall be his duty to visit the person and premonish him of his bounden duty. If, after such premonishing, a communicant shall continue for a space of one year to neglect or refuse to partake of his Sacrament, then the Minister shall cease to count him as a communicant in good standing.
Section 2.
If any communicant shall neglect to receive the Holy Communion for the space of two years consecutively without reasons known and satisfactory to his Minister, then his name shall be removed from the list of active communicants of the Parish or Mission, and he may not receive a Letter Commendatory until satisfactory explanation is made.
Of Complaint on Repulsion
Section 1.
a. When a person to whom the Sacraments of the Church have been refused, or who has been repelled from the Holy Communion under the Rubrics, shall lodge a complaint with the Bishop, it shall be the duty of the Bishop, unless he sees fit to require the person to be admitted or restored because of the insufficiency of the cause assigned by the Minister, to institute such an inquiry as follows:
b. The Bishop shall appoint a Commission, composed of the Rural Dean and two Clergymen of the Deanery in which the Parish or Mission of the Complainant is situate, and the Chancellor of the Diocese, who shall examine the case, and make a report of the facts in writing to the Bishop, with its opinion thereon, who shall then pronounce his decision.
Section 2.
In case of great heinousness of offense in the party repelled, the Commission may recommend excommunication, and the Bishop, if he sees fit, may declare sentence accordingly. The remission of such sentence must be pronounced by the Bishop. PROVIDED, the Sacrament shall not be refused in any case to a penitent person at the point of death.
Section 3.
When excommunication or suspension from the Holy Communion has been confirmed by the Bishop, the Repulsion shall be binding on all Ministers of the Diocese, and the party thus repelled is guilty of sacrilege in coming to the Holy Table until officially restored.
Section 4.
In case the party injured by an offending communicant be the Rector or Minister of the Parish or Mission himself, then shall said Minister defer all disciplinary action until he shall have submitted the case to the Bishop for his judgment.