The Church of England is led by The Archbishop of Canterbury.
The General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England in which elected representatives from all dioceses gather to discuss and debate church matters and decide the future direction and laws of the Church. Meetings of the General Synod, are referred to as “A Group of Sessions”.
The Diocese of St Albans is led by The Bishop of St Albans.
Each diocese has its own Diocesan Synod which consists of the Bishops and elected members of laity and clergy. The Diocesan Synod considers matters sent to it from General Synod and from deanery synods, formulates diocesan policy on a wide range of issues, advises the Bishop as appropriate and votes the funding of stipends and administration to be raised from the parishes. Rule 44 of The Church Representation Rules (CRR) requires the Diocesan Synod to make Standing Orders which regulate the procedures of the Synod.
Much of the work of the Diocesan Synod is carried out by its Boards and Committees.
Each Deanery in the Diocese meet at Deanery Synods convened by the Rural Dean. These consist of all clergy licensed to a benefice within the deanery, plus elected lay members. It acts as an intermediary between the PCC of each parish in its deanery and the Diocesan Synod. CRR 26 requires the Diocesan Synod to make Rules for Deanery Synods, which, in this Diocese, were most recently amended at the March 2015 Diocesan Synod. Each Deanery also has a Pastoral Committee.
Information regarding the number of lay representatives to be appointed to Deanery Synods from each parish can be found on the APCM page of our website.
Within each deanery, parishes are governed by their own PCCs.
