Elections to Synod

Members speak in debates, propose and vote on motions, serve on committees and review legislation. 

Members speak and vote from their own viewpoints and report back to their diocese about key discussions and outcomes that have happened at General Synod. 

You can get a sense of what happens by watching previous General Synod meeting recordings.

To give you an idea of the kind of issues that General Synod handles, here are some key topics that have been debated, amended and approved by General Synod in the past five years:

• changes to the Church’s safeguarding structure
• agreement of key milestones for how the Church can reach Net Zero Carbon
• regulations enabling improvements to clergy pensions benefits
• update to how clergy discipline and complaints are handled 
• setting parochial fees 
• backing a diocesan motion to encourage sustainable church flowers
• establishing a day of prayer for the global persecuted church
• introduction of Prayers of Love and Faith, enabling clergy to offer blessings for same-sex couples within regular services
• modernising how Church funds are ethically invested and enhancing accountability in financial stewardship.
   

Diocesan Bishops are automatically members of the House of Bishops, as are the Bishop of Dover and the Bishop to the Armed Forces. In addition, nine Suffragan Bishops are elected to join the House of Bishops. 

For clergy and laity, almost all members are elected (around 15 are 'ex officio' or co-opted). 

If elected, you would be expected to attend each meeting of Synod for the next five years. It is possible to attend all General Synod meetings either in person or online. 

Each meeting lasts five days and there are usually two meetings per year, one in London and one in York. In your first year, you would also attend an additional three-day meeting in London. 

Future dates of General Synod meetings.

The role is voluntary and unpaid. Members’ travel and accommodation expenses are covered. 

• Opportunity to represent the concerns of your community and your diocese at a national level.
• Have a say in national legislation that affects all parts of the Church of England.
• Raise issues and contribute to debates on social and policy matters.
• Meet other Anglicans from across the country and the world.
• Challenge yourself to try something exciting and new – General Synod can be enormously rewarding.
   

You do not need any special skills.

You will need to be able to show you are someone who listens with an open mind, who is able to reflect prayerfully on issues, and who is able to confidently contribute to discussions. 

We are looking for candidates who represent the whole range of people and churches in the Church of England. 

You don’t need any previous experience in making speeches. You don’t need to be a member of a PCC, Deanery Synod or Diocesan Synod. 

It doesn’t matter if you don’t know everything about how the Church operates or how General Synod works – people will help you with this if you do get elected. There is a supportive induction programme.

Almost anyone who attends a Church of England church regularly is eligible to stand as a lay member of General Synod. Use our eligibility checker below to help you work out if you are eligible. 

• If you are part of a parish church, to be eligible you simply need to be aged 18 or over, confirmed, on the electoral roll, and have taken communion at least three times in the past year. 
• Requirements vary for people who have been baptised in another trinitarian church, who worship in cathedral churches or other worshipping communities, or who are members of religious communities or the armed forces. More detail is explained in Part 5 of the Church Representation Rules.  
• You are not allowed to stand if you are disqualified from holding office under safeguarding provisions, if you work for the National Church Institutions, or in some other circumstances. More detail on who is disqualified is explained in Part 7 of the Church Representation Rules. 

1. Eligibility: Contact your diocese to confirm your eligibility. 
2. Nominations: Your diocese will have a nominations form that you need to fill out and that will need to be signed by the people who are nominating you. If you are standing as a lay member, you will then need two people who are members of a Deanery Synod to nominate you. If you are clergy, you will need two other clergy to nominate you. Nominations open on 14 August and close on 7 September. (Deans, Suffragan Bishops, Universities and TEIs, Religious Communities and Armed Forces require nominations from their own constituencies).
3. Statements and hustings: You will need to write an election statement and may be asked to record a video or give a short talk at a ‘hustings’ event. Statements and hustings are an opportunity to talk about why you want to be elected and what you could bring to the role.
4. Voting: The lay Deanery Synod members in your diocese vote for lay candidates, and the clergy in your diocese vote for clergy candidates. The voting period is 21 September to 13 October.
5. Results: If elected, you would come to General Synod for the first time at its meeting in London this November.

• Lay members of Deanery Synods vote for lay members of General Synod for their diocese. 
• All clergy in each diocese can vote for clergy members of General Synod from their diocese. 

Lay and clergy members of the Religious Communities and Armed Forces, Deans and members of the Universities and Theological Education Institutions have separate election processes.