The Religious Communities Regulations set out the conditions a community must meet in order to be declared, under Canon DA 1, to be a religious community in the Church of England. These conditions include the requirement that all religious communities of the Church of England must comply with all House of Bishops Safeguarding policies and practice guidance.  

This legislation follows on from a resolution at General Synod in February 2018. The resolution called on the Business Committee to provide a framework for religious life in the Church of England noting the historic importance of religious communities in the life of the faithful and celebrating the many new expressions of the religious life through Recognised and Acknowledged Communities.

Once approved by the House, the Regulations will be subject to approval by the General Synod. 

The House then briefly received updates from the various works streams operating under the auspices of the Emerging Church Groups, with a forward look to the House of Bishops meeting in December, where they will be discussed in greater detail.