General Synod

About General Synod

General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England, commonly referred to as the Church’s Parliament. There are currently 483 members of General Synod. Together with the Westminster Parliament, it is the only body in the land which is entitled to make national law for England.

Synod considers and approves legislation affecting the whole of the Church of England, authorises new forms of worship, debates matters of religious and public interest, and approves the annual budget for the work of the Church at national level.

Members of General Synod are arranged into three Houses: the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy (all ordained members, excluding bishops), and the House of Laity, the lay members from every diocese of the Church of England. Members of the Houses of Clergy and Laity are elected by the clergy and lay members respectively of the Deanery Synods.

Papers and minutes of General Synod can be found on the Church of England website. Meetings are livestreamed on YouTube and the official Twitter feed keeps everyone up to date with news and announcements.

News and announcements

Presiding officer – 2 February 2022: casual vacancy election announcement

Following the resignation of the Revd Andrew Lightbown as a proctor (clergy representative) for the diocese of Oxford on General Synod, a casual vacancy arose.

As Presiding Officer for the General Synod elections I can now announce that the relevant votes cast in September and October last year have now been recounted (in accordance with the Election Rules), and the candidate elected to fill the casual vacancy is the Revd Ross Alexander Meikle. He now joins his fellows proctors elected in October last year:

The Revd Andrew Castell Atherstone
The Revd Canon Mark David Bennet
The Revd Joy Maria Mawdesley
The Revd Jeremy Michael Moodey
The Revd Timothy Norwood
The Revd William Oliver Clinton Pearson-Gee
The Revd Canon Valerie Isabelle Dawn Frances Plumb
The Revd Canon Vaughan Edward Roberts
The Revd Canon Toby Christopher Wright

Darren Oliver
Presiding Officer
2 February 2022

Presiding officer – 12 October 2021

As Presiding Officer for the General Synod elections, I can now announce that, following the count of votes earlier today, the candidates elected to represent the diocese are:

As members of the House of Laity:
Mr Peter George Barrett
Dr Andrew Robert Bell
Dr Gracy Vijaya Crane
Miss Prudence Mary Prior Dailey
Mrs Julie Patricia Dziegiel
Prof Helen King
Mr Daniel Mbusi Sajabi Matovu
Ms Jayne Margaret Ozanne
Mr Jacob Max Wigley

As proctors (house of clergy):
The Revd Andrew Castell Atherstone
The Revd Canon Mark David Bennet
The Revd Richard Andrew Lightbown
The Revd Joy Maria Mawdesley
The Revd Jeremy Michael Moodey
The Revd Timothy Norwood
The Revd William Oliver Clinton Pearson-Gee
The Revd Canon Valerie Isabelle Dawn Frances Plumb
The Revd Canon Vaughan Edward Roberts
The Revd Canon Toby Christopher Wright

Thank you to all candidates who offered themselves for service in this way and to the time and effort that has been given during the course of this election. Thank you also to all those who voted.

Please hold all of the elected representatives and the work of the General Synod in your prayers as the new quinquennium begins.

Darren Oliver
Presiding Officer
12 October 2021

Click here to open the Form of Return (Laity)

Click here to open the Form of Return (Proctors)