Posted on 06/12/2005 4:33:21 PM PDT by sionnsar
There is a drumbeat going around the blogosphere (titusonenine, VirtueOnline) these days that the so-called "Dennis Canon" (I.6.4) was never properly passed by General Convention because it did not pass two successive Conventions, or passed one House but not the other (there seem to be two competing versions of this rumor).
Here are the relevant citations:
Constitution: ARTICLE XII
No alteration or amendment of this Constitution shall be made unless the same shall be first proposed at one regular meeting of the General Convention and be sent to the Secretary of the Convention of every Diocese, to be made known to the Diocesan Convention at its next meeting, and be adopted by the General Convention at its next succeeding regular meeting by a majority of all Bishops, excluding retired Bishops not present, of the whole number of Bishops entitled to vote in the House of Bishops, and by an affirmative vote by orders in the House of Deputies in accordance with Article I, Section 5, except that concurrence by the orders shall require the affirmative vote in each order by a majority of the Dioceses entitled to representation in the House of Deputies.
...
Each duly adopted alteration or amendment to this Constitution, unless otherwise expressly stated therein, shall take effect on the first day of January following the adjournment of the General Convention at which it is finally adopted.
Canons, Title V: GENERAL PROVISIONS
CANON 1: Of Enactment, Amendment, and Repeal
Sec. 1. No new Canon shall be enacted, or existing Canon be amended or repealed, except by concurrent Resolution of the two Houses of the General Convention. Such Resolution may be introduced first in either House, and shall be referred in each House to the Committee on Canons thereof, for consideration, report, and recommendation, before adoption by the House; Provided, that in either House the foregoing requirement of reference may be dispensed with by a three-fourths vote of the members present.
...
Sec. 6. All Canons enacted during the General Convention of 1943, and thereafter, and all amendments and repeals of Canons then or thereafter made, unless otherwise expressly ordered, shall take effect on the first day of January following the adjournment of the General Convention at which they were enacted or made.
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Here is the citation on the "Dennis Canon" from the online Archives. Please note that it is a CANONICAL, not a constitutional change:
Resolution Number: 1979-D024
Title: Amend Canons I.6 and II.7 [Of Church Property]
Legislative Action Taken: Concurred As Amended
Final Text:
Resolved, That Title I, Canon 6 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church, be amended to add a Section 4 as follows:
Sec. 4. All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any Parish, Mission or Congregation is held in trust for this Church and the Diocese thereof in which such Parish, Mission on Congregation is located. The existence of this trust, however, shall in no way limit the power and authority of the Parish, Mission or Congregation otherwise existing over such property so long as the particular Parish, Mission or Congregation remains a part of, and subject to, this Church and its Constitution and Canons ; and be it further
Resolved, That Title I, Canon 6 be amended to add a Section 5 as follows:
Sec. 5. The several Dioceses may, at their election, further confirm the trust declared under the foregoing Section 4 by appropriate action, but no such action shall be necessary for the existence and validity of the trust ; and be it further
Resolved, That Title II, Canon 7 be amended to add a new Section 3 as follows:
Sec. 3. Any dedicated and consecrated Church or Chapel shall be subject to the trust declared with respect to real and personal property held by any Parish, Mission, or Congregation, as set forth in Section 4 of Title I, Canon 6 ; and be it further
Resolved, That this resolution shall be effective upon enactment Citation: General Convention, Journal of the General Convention of...The Episcopal Church, Denver, 1979 (New York: General Convention, 1980), p. D-154.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
Author: Originating House: House of Bishops
Originating Committee: Committee on Canons
House of Bishops
Original Text of Resolution:
(D024)
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring, That Title I, Canon 6 of the Canons of the Episcopal Church, be amended to add a Section 4 as follows:
Sec. 4. All real and personal property held by or for the benefit of any Parish, Mission or Congregation is held in trust for this Church and the Diocese thereof in which such Parish, Mission on Congregation is located. The existence of this trust, however, shall in no way limit the power and authority of the Parish, Mission or Congregation otherwise existing over such property so long as the particular Parish, Mission or Congregation remains a part of, and subject to, this Church and its Constitution and Canons; and be it further
Resolved, That Title I, Canon 6 be amended to add a Section 5 as follows:
Sec. 5. The several Dioceses may, at their election, further confirm the trust declared under the foregoing Section 4 by appropriate action, but no such action shall be necessary for the existence and validity of the trust; and be it further
Resolved, That Title II, Canon 7 be amended by adding a new Section 3, reading as follows:
Sec. 3. Any dedicated and consecrated Church or Chapel shall be subject to the trust declared with respect to real and personal property held by any Parish, Mission, or Congregation, as set forth in Section 4 of Title I, Canon 6.
The Bishop of Kentucky moved that the Resolution be amended to make the Resolution effective upon enactment. The motion was seconded by the Bishop of Arizona. Motion carried Resolution adopted with amendment
(Communicated to the House of Deputies in HB Messages # 75 & 76)
House of Deputies
The Committee on Canons presented its Report #32 on Resolution D-24, and recommended concurrence with House of Bishops Messages #75 and #76.
Motion carried
The House concurred
Resolution Concurred by Both Houses, September 19.
Notes: Resolution 1979-D024 was presented and considered in two parts in the originating House. The first two resolve clauses were adopted and sent to the House of Deputies as HB Message #76, and the third resolve clause was adopted separately and sent to the House of Deputies as HB Message #75.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Louie's nervous..very worried..he's trying to shape the battlefield..if you have the goods..you don't wave it around in public..
Not me, but this appears to prove that the Dennis Canon passed both Houses in 1979 and says nothing about a second passage at all.
Clearly, this does not prove that the Dennis Canon was not adequately ratified, but it does not establish that it was. Yet another muddle from over-legalized Episcopalians.
In Christ,
Deacon Paul+
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