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THE CONSTITUTION OF
THE CHURCH IN WALES
VOLUME II
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THE CANONS
AND
THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
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As amended by Amendment Sheet No.47
March 2013
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THE CONSTITUTION OF THE CHURCH IN WALES
THE CANONS AND
THE RULES AND REGULATIONS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Section
PREFATORY NOTE
1.
1.1
1.2
CANONS OF THE CHURCH IN WALES
CANONS OF THE CHURCH IN WALES - PART 1
Canons, printed in full, with exception of those which amend chapters of the
Constitution or the Book of Common Prayer
CANONS OF THE CHURCH IN WALES - PART 2
Canons, in abridged form, which amend chapters of the Constitution or the
Book of Common Prayer
2.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
Burial Grounds Rules
Churchyard Regulations
Gravestones Regulations
Church Sales Regulations
Chancel Repair Regulations
Lay Administration Regulation
Accounting Regulations
Church Fabric Regulations
Redundant Churches Regulations
Constitution of Diocesan Churches and Pastoral Committees
Cathedrals and Churches Commission Rules
Resources for Training for the Ordained Ministry Regulations
3.
SCHEMES
Scheme for the support of Ministry in the Church in Wales 2007
Maintenance of Ministry Scheme
Cathedral Schemes
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4.
4.1
4.2
RULES OF THE COURTS OF THE CHURCH IN WALES
RULES OF THE PROVINCIAL COURT
RULES OF THE DIOCESAN COURTS
(including the rules of the Archdeacons’ Courts in respect of appeals under
section 7 or section 8 of chapter VI of the Constitution)
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PREFATORY NOTE
The Church in Wales is a fellowship of dioceses within the Holy Catholic
Church, constituted as a Province of the Anglican Communion. It maintains the
threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons which it has received, and
acknowledges as its supreme authority in matters of faith the Holy Scriptures as
interpreted in the Catholic Creeds and the historic Anglican formularies, that is, the
Thirty Nine Articles of Religion, the Book of Common Prayer and the Ordering of
Bishops, Priests and Deacons as published in 1662. Its calling is to nurture men and
women in the faith of Jesus Christ and to aid them to grow in the fellowship of the
Holy Spirit, so that the good news of God’s grace may be clearly proclaimed in the
world and that God’s Kingdom may be honoured and advanced.
Every society, ecclesial or secular, requires its own rules for the regulation of its
affairs. The Constitution which regulates the Church in Wales exists to serve the
sacramental integrity and good order of the Church and to assist its mission and its
witness to the Lord Jesus Christ. It derives from a variety of sources representing
both historical continuity and innovation.
The Constitution was first drawn up after the separation of the Welsh dioceses
from the Church of England in 1920. Together with rules inherited from the Church of
England at disestablishment - rules drawn partly from Acts of Parliament, postReformation canons of the Church of England and the medieval canon law, all of
which the Church in Wales now has the power to alter or repeal - the Constitution
forms the internal law of the Church in Wales. It is binding upon all members of the
Church in Wales, both clerical and lay, but not upon the people of Wales generally,
and, in common with the rules of other voluntary associations, it is enforceable in
certain circumstances in the civil courts. It is the product of the freedom given to the
Church in Wales by the Welsh Church Act, 1914, to govern its own affairs.
Although the current ecclesiastical law of England does not apply to it, the
Church in Wales remains bound by the secular law of England and Wales regarding
such matters as the ownership and management of property, the solemnisation of
marriages and rights of burial in its churchyards.
The chief features of the law of the Church in Wales - synodical government,
episcopal oversight, canonical ministry, the participation of the laity, and access to
the ministrations of the Church - are characteristics shared with all other churches
within the worldwide Anglican Communion and provide an essential focus of unity.
The Constitution, approved by the Governing Body, is published in two
volumes, Volume 1 containing the Chapters of the Constitution and Regulations
relating to them and Volume II The Canons and Rules and Regulations.
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The key clauses of the Welsh Church Act, 1914, referring to the fundamentals
of faith and order, and the resolution arising therefrom and approved at the first
meeting of the Governing Body on 8 January, 1918, are as follows:
Section 3(2) of the Welsh Church Act, 1914 provides that “as from the date of
disestablishment [31st March, 1920] the then existing ecclesiastical law and the
then existing articles, doctrines, rites, rules, discipline, and ordinances of the
Church of England shall with and subject to such modification or alteration...as
may be duly made therein, according to the constitution and regulations for the
time being of the Church in Wales be binding on the members for the time
being of the Church in Wales in the same manner as if they had mutually
agreed to be so bound...”. The Constitution of the Church in Wales sets out
such modifications or alterations or the authority therefor.
Section 13(1) of the Welsh Church Act, 1914 provides “Nothing in any Act, law,
or custom shall prevent the bishops, clergy, and laity of the Church in Wales
from holding synods or electing representatives thereto, or from framing, either
by themselves or by their representatives elected in such manner as they think
fit, constitutions and regulations for the general management and good
government of the Church in Wales and the property and affairs thereof,
whether as a whole or according to dioceses, and the future representation of
members thereof in a general synod or in diocesan synods, or otherwise”.
The Governing Body, at its first meeting, held on 8 January, 1918 resolved “that
the Governing Body does hereby accept the articles, doctrinal statements, rites and
ceremonies and save in so far as they may necessarily be varied by the Welsh
Church Act 1914 the formularies of the Church of England as accepted by that
Church and set forth in or appended to the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of
England”.
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