What is General Convention?
The 78th General Convention of the Episcopal Church will meet in Salt Lake City, UT this summer, June 25 to July 3. The General Convention gathers every three years and is a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies, which has more than 800 members (up to four clergy and four lay people from each diocese), and the House of Bishops, which is comprised of more than 300 active and retired bishops.
How does General Convention work?
The General Convention
is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church.
With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the
Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority in the Episcopal
Church. General Convention comprises two houses: the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. It meets regularly once every
three years; however, the House of Bishops meets regularly in between
sessions of General Convention. All bishops, whether active or retired,
have seat and vote in the House of Bishops. Each diocese of the
Episcopal Church, as well as the Navajoland Area Mission and the
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, are entitled to
representation in the House of Deputies by four clergy deputies, and
four lay deputies. Resolutions must pass both houses in order to take effect.
The first General Convention - Virginians were there!
Before
the American Revolution, there had been no Anglican dioceses or bishops
in the colonies, thus when the American congregations were separated
from the Church of England, "the chain which held them together [was]
broken". In 1782, William White, the father of the Episcopal Church,
wrote in his pamphlet The Case of the Episcopal Churches in the United
States Considered, "it would seem, that their future continuance can be
provided for only by voluntary associations for union and good
government". The first General Convention of Episcopal Church was held
in Philadelphia in 1785, with clergy and lay representatives from
Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and
Virginia. The convention authorized the preparation of an American
Prayer Book and named itself the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States of America.
Presiding Bishop nominees announced
The nominees for the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church have been announced. The 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church will be elected on Saturday, June 27 during The Episcopal Church's 78th General Convention which will be held June 25 - July 3 at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, UT (Diocese of Utah).
Nominated for Presiding Bishop are:
The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio
The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut h
The Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith, Bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Florida
The Presiding
Bishop serves for a nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop is Primate,
Chief Pastor of the Church, Chair of the Executive Council, and
President of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society.
