INTRODUCTION
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada normally meets every three years for a session lasting several days. It held its 41st session from 7 to 12 July 2016 in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Although much media attention focused on one particular motion, a lot of other work was accomplished during the session.
ECUMENICAL RELATIONS
The Synod heard addresses from our Full Communion partner, National Bishop Susan Johnson of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, from Anglican Communion partners Presiding Bishop Michael Curry of The Episcopal Church (of the USA), Dr José Bringas and Bishop Griselda Delgado del Carpio of the Episcopal Church in Cuba, Archbishop Francisco de Assis da Silva, Primate of the Anglican Church of Brazil, and Archbishop Josiah Atkins Idowu-Fearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion. Ecumenical guests who also addressed the Synod included the Rt Revd Jordan Cantwell, Moderator of the United Church of Canada, and the Rev Dr Willard Metzger, Executive Director of the Mennonite Church of Canada. Various organs of the Church and the Canadian members of the Anglican Consultative Council made other presentations.
LEGISLATIVE BUSINESS
Synod gave first reading to a number of housekeeping amendments to the Declaration of Principles and the Canons on Discipline (Canon XVIII) and the Supreme Court (Canon XX). Changes to this legislation require a two-thirds majority in each of the three orders at two readings over two successive sessions of Synod, and thus will not come into force until adopted at second reading at the next session of the General Synod.
Synod also made several housekeeping amendments to the Constitution, Rules of Order and Canons on the Primate (Canon III), the Military Ordinariate (Canon XXIII) and the National Indigenous Ministry (Canon XXII), each requiring only a single reading.
Synod set up a task force on ethical investment, and endorsed calls for ecumenical dialogue with the United Church of Canada and the Mennonite Church of Canada.
LITURGY
For the first time since 1962, the General Synod authorised liturgical texts, specifically several texts for trial use over the next three years. (The custom in the Anglican Church of Canada has been for the General Synod to commend texts, such as the Book of Alternative Services, for use where authorised by the Ordinary; thus only the (Canadian) Book of Common Prayer 1962 had been authorised by the General Synod prior to this session.) A motion to de-authorise a prayer in the Book of Common Prayer for the Conversion of the Jews (similar to the third Collect for Good Friday, which was previously de-authorised) failed in the Order of Bishops.
SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
The most controversial item of business was a proposal to amend Canon XXI on Marriage to provide for solemnisation of marriage between persons of the same sex. This followed from Resolution C003, adopted in 2013, which requested that such a motion be brought forward. Over the intervening three years, a process of consultation produced a theological report, This Holy Estate, and the canonical motion. The Chancellor of General Synod pointed out that the Canon in its current form neither defines marriage nor prohibits solemnisation of same-sex marriage, and thus the proposed changes were to four incidental references to the couple as ‘husband and wife’ or ‘man and woman’ (whereas most of the references are already to ‘the parties to the marriage’). In addition, it was proposed to require the bishop's authorisation to solemnise a same-sex marriage. After much debate – and some voting confusion – the motion was approved by a two-thirds majority in each of the three orders at first reading. it will be considered again at second reading at the next session of the General Synod.
General Synod will meet next in Vancouver in 2019. As was the case in 2013, the next session will be held as part of a joint assembly with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada's National Convention.
