The

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

does not have a centralised

canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...

of its own, unlike the canon law of the Catholic Church. Each of the autonomous member churches of the communion, however, does have a canonical system. Some, such as the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, has an ancient, highly developed

while others, such as the

Episcopal Church in the United States The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

have more recently developed canonical systems originally based on the English canon law. Unlike the system of canon law in the Church of England, which continues to be drawn from the canon law of the

Western church Western Christianity is one of two sub-divisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the Old Catholic ...

, English ecclesiastical law did not remain in force in the Episcopal Church after the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

. There are two parallel systems of canon law within the church operating on a national level, governed by the

General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...

, and on a diocesan level, with each diocesan convention empowered to create constitutions and canons. Diocesan constitutions do not require the approval of the General Convention. The Episcopal Church is notable among Anglican churches for the extent to which the Constitution and Canons of the General Convention leave matters to regulation at the diocesan and parochial levels.

Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States

links at Constitution and Canons page ''White and Dykman'' treatise on Canon Law in the Episcopal Church

List of Diocesan Constitutions and Canons

Notes

References

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Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church in the United States

List of Diocesan Constitutions and Canons

See also

Notes

References

Further reading