Anglican Consultative Council - Resources

The Constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council

1. Name

The name of the Council is the Anglican Consultative Council.

2. Object

The object of the Council shall be to advance the Christian religion and in furtherance of that object, but not further or otherwise, the Council shall have the following powers:

  1. To facilitate the co-operative work of the member Churches of the Anglican Communion.
  2. To share information about developments in one or more provinces of the Anglican Communion with the other parts of the communion and to serve as needed as an instrument of common action.
  3. To advise on inter-Anglican, provincial, and diocesan relationships, including the division of provinces, the formation of new provinces and of regional councils, and the problems of extra-provincial dioceses.
  4. To develop as far as possible agreed Anglican policies in the world mission of the Church and to encourage national and regional Churches to engage together in developing and implementing such policies by sharing their resources of manpower, money, and experience to the best advantage of all.
  5. To keep before national and regional Churches the importance of the fullest possible Anglican collaboration with other Christian Churches.
  6. To encourage and guide Anglican participation in the ecumenical movement and the ecumenical organisations, to co-operate with the World Council of Churches and the world confessional bodies on behalf of the Anglican Communion; and to make arrangements for the conduct of pan-Anglican conversations with the Roman Catholic Church, the Orthodox Churches and other Churches.
  7. To advise on matters arising out of national or regional church union negotiations or conversations and on subsequent relations with united Churches.
  8. To advise on problems of inter-Anglican communication and to help in the dissemination of Anglican and ecumenical information.
  9. To keep in review the needs that may arise for further study, and where necessary, to promote inquiry and research.
  10. To obtain, collect, receive and hold money, funds and property, old and new, by way of contributions, donations, subscriptions, legacies, grants and any other lawful method and accept and receive gifts of property of any description (whether subject to any special trust or not).
  11. To assist any charitable body or bodies financially or otherwise.
  12. To establish an emergency fund or funds for the support of clergy in special need and for other charitable purposes in any part of the world.
  13. To assist the Inter-Anglican Finance Committee (as hereinafter defined) , the Primates Meeting and the Lambeth Conference as and when required to do so.
  14. To procure to be written in print, publish, issue and circulate gratuitously or otherwise any reports or periodicals, books, pamphlets, leaflets or other documents.
  15. To receive and hold in custody, or cause to be held in custody, any records or legal or historical documents of any member Church.
  16. To arrange and provide for or join in arranging and providing for the holding of exhibitions, meetings, lectures and classes.
  17. To make bye-laws, always subject to this Constitution, for the better conduct of its business and to repeal or amend the same from time to time.
  18. To do all such other things as shall further the objects of the Council.

3. Membership

  1. The Council shall be constituted with a membership according to the Schedule hereto. With the assent of two-thirds of the Primates of the Anglican Communion, the Standing Committee may alter or add to the Schedule. ‘Primates’ for the purposes of this Article shall mean the principal Archbishop, Bishop or Primate of each of the bodies listed under paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) of the Schedule of Membership.
  2. Members shall be appointed as provincial, national or regional machinery provides. Alternate members shall be appointed in a similar manner, and shall be invited to attend a meeting if the ordinary member is unable to be present for a whole session of the Council. Any appointment of a member or alternate member may be revoked by the body which made the appointment.

4. Appointment and Retirement of Members

  1. Each of the appointing bodies shall have regard to the desirability of ensuring that any member appointed  to represent it on the Council shall be a member of its own representative structures and that such person shall be given appropriate opportunity to report the proceedings of the Council to its own decision-making bodies and to convey the views of such decision-making bodies to the Council.
  2. The term of office for ordinary members shall be either
    1. six years calculated from a member’s first attendance at a meeting of the Council or
    2. three successive meetings of the Council whichever period shall terminate the later or,
    3. such shorter period as the appointing body shall determine
  3. On termination of his or her period of office, no member shall be eligible for re-appointment nor shall he or she be appointed an alternate member until a period of six years from the date when such original membership ceased has elapsed.
  4. Bishops and other clerical members shall cease to be members on retirement from ecclesiastical office.
  5. Any appointing body as set out in the Schedule of Membership shall have power at any time and from time to time to appoint any qualified person to be a member to fill a casual vacancy to hold office for the unexpired term specified in Clause 4(a).
  6. Alternate Members: An alternate member may be re-appointed as an alternate member, or appointed an ordinary member, unless he or she has already replaced a member at two meetings of the Council.
  7. Any appointing body shall upon making such appointment notify the name of theperson so appointed and all relevant contact information relating to such person to the Secretary General.

5. Advisers

The Council may invite advisers, Anglicans or others, to be present at its meetings, but not to vote.

6. Officers

  1. The Archbishop of Canterbury shall always be a member of the Council and its President, and not subject to retirement under the provision of clause 4(a). When present he shall inaugurate each meeting of the Council. He shall be ex officio a member of all its committees.
  2. The Council shall elect a Chairman and Vice-Chairman from its own number who shall hold office for two meetings of the Council.
  3. The Council shall delegate to its Standing Committee the appointment of a Secretary for a specified term who shall be known as the Secretary General of the Council and whose duties it shall determine. The Secretary General shall not be a member of the Council. Remuneration and terms and conditions of service shall be determined by the Standing Committee. 1.

7. Standing Committee

  1. The Council shall appoint a Standing Committee of fourteen members which shall include the Chairman and the Vice Chairman of the Council and the members listed in category (e) to the Schedule to the Constitution. The Secretary General shall be Secretary of the Standing Committee.
  2. The members of the Standing Committee shall be the Trustees of the Council for the purposes of the Order of the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales sealed on 6 May 1994.
  3. Ordinary meetings of the Standing Committee shall take place annually.
  4. At least six months notice shall be given to every member of the date and place of the Annual meeting of the Standing Committee and such notice shall specify the general nature of the business to be transacted thereat.

8. Powers of the Standing Committee

The Standing Committee shall act for the Council between meetings of the Council and shall execute such matters as are referred to it by the Council. The Standing Committee may exercise all powers of the Council as are not by this Constitution required to be done specifically by the Council, and in particular may borrow money and mortgage or charge the Council assets.

9. Meetings of the Council

  1. The Council shall meet at intervals of approximately two or three years as appropriate.
  2. As far as possible, the Council shall meet in various parts of the world.

10. Amendments to Constitution

Amendments to this Constitution shall be submitted by the Council to the Constitutional bodies listed under clauses (b), (c) and (d) of the Schedule of Membership and must be ratified by two-thirds of such bodies provided that no amendment shall be made which shall cause the Council to cease to be a charity at law.

11. Dissolution

If upon the winding-up or dissolution of the Council, there remains after the satisfaction of all its debts and liabilities any property whatsoever, the same shall not be paid or distributed among the members of the Council, but shall be given or transferred to some other charitable institution or institutions having charitable objects similar to the objects of the Council and which shall prohibit the distribution of its or their income and property among its or their members.

The Schedule of Membership.

The membership of the Council shall be as follows:-

  1. The Archbishop of Canterbury
  2. Three from each of the following, being either two clergy (priests or deacons) and one lay person, or one priest or deacon and two lay persons:
    The Anglican Church of Australia
    The Anglican Church of Canada
    The Church of England
    The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion)
    The Church the Province of Rwanda
    The Church of the Province of Southern Africa
    The Church of South India
    The Anglican Church of Tanzania
    The Church of the Province of Uganda
    The Episcopal Church (United States of America)
  3. Two from each of the following, consisting of one priest or deacon and one lay person:
    The Anglican Church Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
    The Church of the Province of Central Africa
    The Province of the Anglican Church of Congo
    The Church of Ireland
    The Anglican Church of Kenya
    The Church of North India
    The Church of the Province of the Indian Ocean
    The Church of Pakistan
    The Episcopal Church of the Sudan
    The Church in Wales
    The Church in the Province of the West Indies
  4. One lay person from each of the following:
    The Church of Bangladesh
    The Episcopal Anglican Church of Brasil
    The Church of the Province of Burundi
    Anglican Church of the Central America Region
    The Church of Ceylon
    Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui
    Nippon Sei Ko Kai (The Anglican Communion in Japan)
    The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East
    The Anglican Church in Korea
    The Church of the Province of Melanesia
    The Anglican Church of Mexico
    The Church of the Province of Myanmar
    The Anglican Church of Papua New Guinea
    The Episcopal Church in the Philippines
    The Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America
    The Scottish Episcopal Church
    The Church of the Province of South East Asia
    The Church of the Province of West Africa
  5. Ex Officio Members
    Five members of the body known as the Standing Committee of the Primates of the Anglican Communion in each case for so long as they shall remain members of such Standing Committee
  6. Co-opted Members:
    The Council may co-opt up to six additional members of whom two shall be women and two persons not over 28 years of age at the time of appointment.
  7. Additional Members:
    When the Chairman’s appointment as chairman extends beyond the date at which his or her membership of the Council ordinarily expires, from the time of the expiry of the ordinary membership:
    1. the body which made the appointment shall be entitled to appoint a new member of the Council;
    2. the Chairman shall become an additional member of the Council until the completion of the term as Chairman;
    3. the same rules shall apply to the Vice-Chairman

The Bye-Laws of the Anglican Consultative Council

(adopted pursuant to Clause 2(q) of the Constitution)

  1. Meetings of the Council
    1. All meetings of the Council shall be called at a minimum of six months notice in writing. Such notice shall specify the date, the place and the general nature of the business to be transacted thereat.
    2. No business shall be transacted at any meeting of the Council unless a quorum of members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. A quorum shall consist of members appointed by a majority of the bodies listed in clauses (b) (c) and (d) of the Schedule of Membership personally present.
    3. Conduct of business at any meeting of the Council shall be regulated by Procedural Rules adopted from time to time by the Council and in so far as any procedural matter shall arise which shall not be dealt with in the procedural rules currently in force the Chairman shall have power to determine such matter conclusively after such consultation as he shall think fit.
  2. Proceedings of the Standing Committee
    1. The Chairman of the Council may and on the request of five members of the Standing Committee shall summon a special meeting of the Standing Committee.
    2. The Standing Committee may regulate their meetings as they think fit and determine the quorum necessary for the transaction of business. Unless otherwise determined, five shall be a quorum. Questions arising at any meeting shall be decided by a majority of votes. In the case of an equality of votes, the Chairman shall have a second or casting vote.
    3. The Standing Committee may delegate any of its powers to committees as it thinks fit and any committee so formed shall, in the execution of the powers so delegated, conform to any requirements imposed on it by the Standing Committee. Any such committee may call advisers.
    4. In electing members of the Standing Committee the Council shall have regard to the desirability of achieving (so far as practicable) appropriate regional diversity and a balance of representation between clergy and laity and between the genders.
    5. Elected members of the Standing Committee shall hold office from the end of the Council meeting at which they are appointed until the end of the last ordinary Council meeting which they would be entitled to attend but subject to earlier termination in the event that such elected member shall for any reason cease to be a member of the Council.
  3. Finance
    1. The Secretary General is responsible to the Council for overseeing its financial affairs and the affairs of the Inter-Anglican Finance Committee and shall ensure that proper books of account be kept with respect to:
      1. All sums of money received and expended by the Council and the matters in respect of which the receipt and expenditure took place
      2. The assets and liabilities of the Council
      3. and shall be responsible for presenting the Council's audited accounts at each annual meeting of the Standing Committee.
    2. The Standing Committee shall lay before the Council properly audited annual income and expenditure accounts, balance sheets and reports, such documents to include full financial reports on the Inter-Anglican Finance Committee, the Primates' Meeting and where necessary the Lambeth Conference.  Copies of the same shall be circulated to members of the Council with the other papers for the meeting at which the accounts are to be considered.
  4. Inter‑Anglican Finance Committee
    1. The Council in conjunction with the Primates Meeting shall appoint a finance committee of at least five members, to be called the "Inter‑Anglican Finance Committee", which shall be responsible for co‑ordinating the finances required by the Council, the Primates Meeting and the Lambeth Conference.
    2. The membership shall consist of at least two members appointed by the Primates Meeting, and at least three members appointed by the Council.
    3. Members appointed by the Council shall take their place on the Committee as from the end of the Council Meeting at which they are elected, and their membership shall continue until the end of the last ordinary Council meeting they would be entitled to attend but subject to earlier termination in the event that such elected member shall for any reason cease to be a member of the Council. Members appointed by the Primates Meeting shall serve as long as the Primates shall determine.
    4. The Inter‑Anglican Finance Committee shall appoint from its own membership its Chairperson and Vice‑chairperson.
  5. Inter‑Anglican Budget
    The Inter‑Anglican Finance Committee in collaboration with the Standing Committee shall, in consultation with member Churches, be responsible for the annual Inter‑Anglican budget, which will include the costs of the Inter‑Anglican Finance Committee, the Primates Meeting and the Lambeth Conference, and shall keep members of the Council and member Churches informed about each year's budget and about the forecast for each of the succeeding three years. In the light of those draft budgets the Council shall determine the level of expenditure and the income required to meet its purposes. The contributions to the Inter‑Anglican budget shall be apportioned among the member bodies as in clauses (b) to (d) inclusive of the Schedule of Membership.
  6. Casual Vacancies in the Co‑opted Membership of the Council
    In the event of any casual vacancy occurring in the co‑opted membership of the Council the Standing Committee shall have power to co‑opt a member under the provisions of Clause (e) of the Schedule of Membership of the Council to hold office until the conclusion of the next meeting of the Council. Any member co‑opted in this manner by the Standing Committee shall be eligible for election by the Council if it so wishes.
  7. Casual Vacancies on the Standing Committee
    In the event of a casual vacancy occurring in the membership of the Standing Committee between Council meetings the Standing Committee itself shall have power to appoint a member of the Council of the same order as the representative who filled the vacant place and such member shall have full voting rights for the remainder of the term of service of the former member. Such member shall, subject to his or her eligibility for continuing membership of the Council, be eligible for re‑election to the Standing Committee at the next Council meeting.
  8. Common Seal
    The Seal of the Council shall at all times be kept in safe custody and shall not be affixed to any instrument except by authority of a Resolution of the Standing Committee, and in the presence of the Secretary of the Standing Committee or the Chairman of the Standing Committee, and one other member of the Council each of whom shall sign every instrument to which the seal shall be so affixed in their presence.

Footnotes

1. ACC-1, page 59, Resolution 42, defined the terms of appointment as follows:

“(a) to be responsible for all secretarial and other duties for the Council and for the meetings of the Council and of its Standing Committee; and

(b) to serve the Anglican Communion and its member Churches with particular regard to the stated functions of the Anglican Consultative Council and to the recommendations and reports of the Council”.

ACC-8, Resolution 30:

“Meetings of the Primates and the Lambeth Conference

The Secretary General shall be available to serve, as the Archbishop of Canterbury shall require, as staff for meetings of the Primates and Lambeth Conference. The ACC shall not be responsible for the expenses of the Primates Meetings or the Lambeth conference. The Primates Meetings and the Lambeth Conference shall be responsible for expenses incurred on their behalf by the Secretary General and his staff.”

 

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