CHURCH
ELECTORAL ROLL
Formation
of Roll
1. (1)
There shall be a church electoral roll (in these rules referred to
as 'the roll') in every parish, on which the names of lay persons
shall be entered as hereinafter provided. The roll shall be
available for inspection by bona fide inquirers.
(2) A lay person shall be entitled to have his name
entered on the roll of a parish if he is baptised,
of sixteen years or upwards, has signed an application form for
enrolment set out in Appendix I of these rules and declares himself
either -
(a) to be a member of the Church of England or of a
Church in communion therewith resident in the parish; or
(b) to be such a member and, not being resident in
the parish, to have habitually attended public worship in the
parish during a period of six months prior to enrolment; or
(c) to be a member in good standing of a Church which
subscribes to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity (not being a Church
in communion with the Church of England) and also prepared to
declare himself to be a member of the Church of England having
habitually attended public worship in the parish during a period of
six months prior to enrolment.
Provided that where a lay person will have his
sixteenth birthday after the intended revision of the electoral
roll or the preparation of a new roll but on or before the date of
the annual parochial church meeting, he may complete a form of
application for enrolment and his name shall be enrolled but with
effect from the date of his birthday.
(3) Where a person resides in an extra-parochial
place he shall be deemed for the purposes of these rules to reside
in the parish which it abuts, and if there is any doubt in the
matter a determination shall be made by the bishop's council and
standing committee.
(4) A person shall be entitled to have his name on
the roll of each of any number of parishes if he is entitled by
virtue of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this rule to have his name
entered on each roll; but a person whose name is entered on the
roll of each of two or more parishes must choose one of those
parishes for the purpose of the provisions of these rules which
prescribe the qualifications for election to a deanery synod, a
diocesan synod or the General Synod or for membership of a
parochial church council under rule 14(1)(f) or of a deanery synod
under rule 24(6)(b).
(5) The roll shall, until a parochial church council
has been constituted in a parish, be formed and revised by the
minister and churchwardens (if any), and shall, after such council
has been constituted, be kept and revised by or under the direction
of the council. Reference in this rule to a parochial church
council shall, so far as may be necessary for giving effect to
these rules, be construed as including references to the minister
and churchwardens (if any).
(6) Where a new parish is created by a pastoral
scheme, the roll of that parish shall in the first instance consist
-
(a) in the case of a parish created by the union of
two or more former parishes, of the rolls of those parishes
combined to form one roll;
(b) in any other case, of the names of the persons
whose names are at the date of the coming into existence of the new
parish entered on the roll of a parish the whole or any part of
which forms part of the new parish and who are either resident in
the new parish or have habitually attended public worship
therein.
(7) The parochial church council shall appoint a
church electoral roll officer to act under its direction for the
purpose of carrying out its functions with regard to the electoral
roll.
(8) The names of persons who are entitled to have
their names entered upon the roll of the parish shall, subject to
the provisions of these rules, be from time to time added to the
roll. It shall be the duty of the electoral roll officer to keep
the roll constantly up to date by the addition and removal of names
as from time to time required by these rules and to report such
additions and removals at the next meeting of the parochial church
council. When additions and removals have been made by the
electoral roll officer a list of such amendments shall be published
by being exhibited continuously for not less than fourteen days on
or near the principal door of every church in the parish and every
building in the parish licensed for public worship in such manner
as the council may appoint and the list shall contain notification
of the right of appeal referred to in rule 43.
Provided that where the roll is published in a form
which contains parts each relating to one or more churches or
places of worship within the parish, the publication
of such amendments to any part of the roll may be limited to the
churches or places of worship to which that part relates.
(9) Subject to the provisions of this rule, a
person's name shall, as the occasion arises, be removed from the
roll, if he -
(a) has died; or
(b) becomes a clerk in Holy Orders; or
(c) signifies in writing his desire that his name
should be removed; or
(d) ceases to reside in the parish, unless after so
ceasing he continues, in any period of six months, habitually to
attend public worship in the parish, unless prevented from doing so
by illness or other sufficient cause; or
(e) is not resident in the parish and has not
habitually attended public worship in the parish during the
preceding six months, not having been prevented from doing so by
illness or other sufficient cause; or
(f) was not entitled to have his name entered on the
roll at the time when it was entered.
(10) The removal of a person's name from the roll
under any of the provisions of these rules shall be without
prejudice to his right to have his name entered again, if he has or
acquires that right.
(11) The roll shall where practicable contain a
record of the address of every person whose name is entered on the
roll, but a failure to comply with this requirement shall not
prejudice the validity of any entry on the roll.
Revision of
Roll and Preparation of New Roll
2. (1) Except in a year in
which a new roll is prepared, the roll of a parish shall be revised
annually by or under the direction of the council. Notice of the
intended revision in the form set out in section 2 of Appendix I to
these rules shall be affixed by the minister or under his direction
on or near the principal door of every church in the parish and
every building in the parish licensed for public worship and remain
so affixed for a period of not less than fourteen days before the
commencement of the revision. The revision shall be completed not
less than fifteen days or more than twenty-eight days before the
annual parochial church meeting.
(2) Upon every revision all enrolments or removals
from the roll which have been effected since the date of the last
revision (or since the formation of the roll, if
there has been no previous revision) shall be reviewed, and such
further enrolments or removals from the rolls as may be required
shall be effected.
(3) After the completion of the revision, a copy of
the roll as revised shall, together with a list of the names
removed from the roll since the last revision (or since the
formation of the roll, if there has been no previous revision), be
published by being exhibited continuously for not less than
fourteen days before the annual parochial church meeting on or near
the principal door of the parish church in such manner as the
council shall appoint. During the period while the copy is so
exhibited any errors and omissions in the roll may be corrected but
subject thereto and to the provisions of rule 1(2), no names shall
be added to or removed from the roll during the period in any year
between the completion of the revision and the close of the annual
parochial church meeting.
(4) Not less than two months before the annual
parochial church meeting in the year 2007 and every succeeding
sixth year notice in the form set out in section 3 of Appendix I to
these rules shall be affixed by the minister or under his direction
on or near the principal door of every church in the parish and
every building in the parish licensed for public worship and remain
so affixed for a period of not less than fourteen days. On the
affixing of the notice a new roll shall be prepared.
At every service held on each of the two Sundays
within the period of fourteen days beginning with the date of the
affixing of the notice or, in the case of a church in which no
service is held on either of those Sundays, at every service held
in that church on the first Sunday after that date the person
conducting the service shall inform the congregation of the
preparation of the new roll.
(5) The parochial church council shall take
reasonable steps to inform every person whose name is entered on
the previous roll that a new roll is being prepared and that if he
wishes to have his name entered on the new roll he must apply for
enrolment. No such steps need be taken with respect to any person
whose name could be removed from the previous roll under rule
1(9).
(6) The new roll shall be prepared by entering upon
it the names of persons entitled to entry under rule 1(2), and a
fresh application shall be required from persons whose names were
entered on the previous roll. A person whose name was so entered
shall not be disqualified for entry on the new roll by reason only
of his failure to comply with the conditions specified in rule 1(2)(b) and (c), if he was prevented from doing
so by illness or other sufficient cause, and the circumstances
shall be stated on the application form. The preparation of the new
roll shall be completed not less than fifteen days or more than
twenty-eight days before the annual parochial church meeting.
(7) After the completion of the new roll, a copy
shall be published by being exhibited continuously for not less
than fourteen days before the annual parochial church meeting on or
near the principal door of the parish church in such manner as the
council shall appoint. During the period while the copy is so
exhibited any errors and omissions in the roll may be corrected but
subject thereto and to the provisions of rule 1(2) no names may be
added to or removed from the roll during the period in any year
between the completion of the new roll and the close of the annual
parochial church meeting. On the publication of the new roll it
shall come into effect and the previous roll shall cease to have
effect.
(8) Upon the alteration of the boundaries of any
parishes the parochial church council of the parish from which any
area is transferred shall inquire from the persons resident in that
area whose names are entered on the roll of the parish, whether
they wish to have their names transferred to the roll of the other
parish. The parochial church council shall remove the names of
persons answering in the affirmative from its own roll and shall
inform the parochial church council of the parish in which such
persons now reside, which shall enter the names on its roll without
any application for enrolment being required.
Procedural
provisions relating to entry and removal of names
3. (1) When a person
applying for enrolment on the roll of any parish signifies his
desire that his name should be removed from the roll of any other
parish, notice of that fact shall be sent by the parochial church
council receiving the application to the parochial church council
of that other parish.
(2) When the name of any person is removed from the
roll of the parish owing to his having become resident in another
parish, notice of that fact shall, whenever possible, be sent by
the parochial church council of the first mentioned parish to the
parochial church council of the last mentioned parish.
[(3)-(5) repealed.]
Certification of Numbers on
Rolls
4. Not later than the 1st
June the chairman, vice-chairman, secretary or church electoral
roll officer of the parochial church council shall notify in
writing the secretary of the diocesan synod of the number of names
on the roll of each parish as at the date of the annual meeting and
a copy of such notification shall be affixed at or near to the
principal door of every church in the parish and every building
licensed for public worship in the parish when notification is sent
to the secretary of the diocesan synod, and shall remain so affixed
for a period of not less than fourteen days.
[Provision
with Respect to Person whose Name is on Guild Church Roll]*1
5. (1) A person whose name
is entered on the roll of a guild church shall for the purpose of
the provisions of these rules which prescribe the qualifications
for election to a deanery synod, a diocesan synod or the House of
Laity of the General Synod, or for membership of a deanery synod
under rule 24(6)(b), be deemed to be a person whose name is on the
roll of the parish in which the guild church is, and references in
those provisions or in rule 1(4) to a person whose name is on the
roll of a parish or on the roll of each of two or more parishes,
and in rule 46 to entry on the roll of a parish, shall be construed
accordingly.
(2) In this rule 'guild church' means a church in
the City of London designated and established as a guild church
under the City of London (Guild Churches) Acts 1952 and 1960.
Note
*1 This header does not
appear in the statutory text.