The House of Laity is the

lower house A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...

in the tricameral General Synod of the Church of England legislature. They are responsible for representing the

laity In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non- ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. In both religious and wider secular usage, a lay ...

of 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 Brit ...

in the legislature. They are indirectly elected every 5 years by members on the Church of England's electoral roll via the representatives on the

Diocesan Synod In the Anglican Communion, the model of government is the 'Bishop in Synod', meaning that a diocese is governed by a bishop acting with the advice and consent of representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In much of the Communion the b ...

History

The concept of giving the laity a voice in the governance of the Church of England dated back to the

English Reformation The English Reformation took place in 16th-century England when the Church of England broke away from the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church. These events were part of the wider European Protestant Reformation, a religious and poli ...

when

King Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

of England broke the Church of England away from the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. The doctrine of lay supremacy was one of the rationales for the breakaway. Initially the

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

were used as the lay representatives as all Church of England legislature had to go through Parliament. However during the 20th century, Parliament focussed little time on Church of England matters. When the Church Assembly (predecessor to the General Synod) was established, it was decided that normal churchgoers would replace the

as the representatives of the laity; thus creating the House of Laity. The House of Laity, along with the

House of Bishops The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

and

House of Clergy The House of Clergy is the middle house in the tricameral Church of England General Synod legislature. It consists of representatives of the ordained clergy of the Church of England. Composition The House of Clergy comprises ordained members ...

, hold a veto over

Church of England Measures __NOTOC__ This is a list of Church of England Measures, which are the legislation of the Church of England. Some of these measures may have been repealed. Since 1970, Measures have been made by the General Synod; prior to then they were made by ...

and reports. An example of this was in 2012 when the House of Laity failed to reach the two-thirds majority needed to approve the ordination of

women bishops The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

despite the other Houses of the Synod approving it.

Election

Members of the House of Laity are elected every five years. Despite their name, they are not directly elected by the Church of England's members. To be eligible for election a person has to be on the electoral roll of a

Church of England parish church A parish church in the Church of England is the church which acts as the religious centre for the people within each Church of England parish (the smallest and most basic Church of England administrative unit; since the 19th century sometimes ca ...

and be elected by their church's members or co-opted onto the parochial church council, then selected to represent the parish at the

deanery synod In the Church of England and other Anglican churches, a deanery synod is a synod convened by the ''Rural Dean'' (or ''Area Dean'') and/or the Joint Lay Chair of the Deanery Synod, who is elected by the elected lay members. It consists of all cler ...

. From there, they have to be selected to represent the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

at the

diocesan synod In the Anglican Communion, the model of government is the 'Bishop in Synod', meaning that a diocese is governed by a bishop acting with the advice and consent of representatives of the clergy and laity of the diocese. In much of the Communion the b ...

, from whose numbers the diocese's representative to the General Synod is elected. There has been criticism of this method of election with suggestions that it leaves the system open to influence from special interest groups. There is no maximum age limit to sit in the House of Laity however some members have voluntarily chosen not to stand for re-election when they reach 70 on the grounds that Church of England clergy are obliged to retire at that age. All dioceses of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

and the

Province of York The Province of York, or less formally the Northern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England and consists of 12 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and the Isle of Man. York was elevated to ...

are represented with two representatives in the House of Laity. The Diocese of Sodor and Man is not represented in the House of Laity. However, the duties of the House of Laity insofar as measures extend to the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

are taken on by

Tynwald Tynwald ( gv, Tinvaal), or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald ( gv, Ard-whaiyl Tinvaal) or Tynwald Court, is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It consists of two chambers, known as the branches of Tynwald: the directly elected House ...

References

{{Reflist, 30em Church of England