The General Synod of the Anglican Church will begin its search for a new national leader in Sydney today as members gather to vote for the denomination’s next primate.
Posted on 07/06/2005 7:20:46 AM PDT by sionnsar
Main Entry: pri'mate
Etymology: Middle English primat, from Old French, from Medieval Latin primat-, primas archbishop, from Latin, leader, from primus
Date: 13th century
1 often capitalized : a bishop who has precedence in a province, group of provinces, or a nation
2 archaic : one first in authority or rank : LEADER
3 [New Latin Primates, from Latin, plural of primat-, primas] : any of an order (Primates) of mammals comprising humans, apes, monkeys, and related forms (as lemurs and tarsiers)
-pri'mate-ship \-*ship\ noun
--pri-ma'tial \pr*-*m*-sh*l\ adjective
The General Synod of the Anglican Church will begin its search for a new national leader in Sydney today as members gather to vote for the denomination’s next primate.
Anglican Bishops, clergy and laity will gather in the Cowper Room, St Andrew’s House, Sydney Square to elect a Primate who will hold office until the 2007 General Synod.
Candidates will be considered by the Primatial Election Board which includes every diocesan bishop, as well as twelve clergy and twelve laity elected at the General Synod in 2004.
The Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia is responsible for chairing the General Synod of the Church, as well as representing the denomination internationally in the Anglican Communion.
In the past the Primate has also occupied a significant media platform, speaking on behalf of the national church on a wide range of issues.
The candidate is usually selected from amongst the Archbishops of the metropolitan cities.
Members of the electoral committee are expected to take close to three days to deliver their decision, with the new primate’s name being announced on Saturday afternoon.
However the new Primate’s appointment has been limited to 2007 when the General Synod will debate the nature of the office.
The Primate’s position is not currently a full-time role and whoever is elected will remain Bishop of his diocese during his term.
The 14th General Synod will convene to discuss whether or not the Anglican Church of Australia should create a full-time Primacy.
Archbishop Peter Jensen will commence today’s election proceedings with a service of Holy Communion at 10.00 am in St Andrew’s Cathedral.
The sermon will be delivered by the Archbishop of Perth, the Most Rev Roger Herft.
Traditional Anglican ping, continued in memory of its founder Arlin Adams. Forgive me, but every time I read this bit about "Primates", such as "Search for primate begins in Sydney", I can't help but thinking things like "Monkey escapes from the zoo."
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