The diocese is complex, but not incomprehensible (really). Simply put, it has two parallel structures which inter-relate. The two structures are:
- Bishop and the parishes
- Synod and its committees
Our diocese is officially named The Synod of the Diocese of British Columbia. It is often shortened to the Diocese of British Columbia, and recently the diocese applied for an official business name- The Diocese of the Islands and Inlets. You may come across any of these three names for the diocese.
The first structure is that of the bishop and the parishes. It’s the original structure of a diocese—from Apostolic times to the 1840s, the bishop and the parishes (along with assorted archdeacons and rural deans) were all that made up a diocese.
The bishop has oversight of the parish and licenses clergy to the parish. The clergy have certain responsibilities within the parish, as do the wardens and parish council. To assist the bishop in their oversight, there are the offices of archdeacons and synod staff. The forty-five parishes in our diocese are organized into four regions.
The second structure is that of synod (pronounced "sinod"). Diocesan synods only made their appearance in the middle of the 19th century, so they are relatively recent church structures. Each parish or mission sends at least one delegate to Synod. All licensed clergy are members of Synod, as are a few officers of synod who are elected or appointed by the Bishop or by Synod itself. The Bishop is in a unique situation, being both part of Synod and apart from it, this resulting from the historical fact that in the 19th century the bishops were usually responsible for the creation of the synods.
If Synod is a creation of the Bishop, then diocesan council is a creation of Synod, as are the various committees that report to diocesan council, which acts as the “synod between synods”. In other words, between synods, diocesan council makes decisions about the operation of the diocese.
What is a Diocese Anyway?
If you are new to the Anglican Church, you may be wondering about all this talk of ‘the diocese’ (pronounced "die-o-seas"). For some, “the diocese” may seem like an external entity, but a diocese is actually a geographical area under the jurisdiction of a bishop. ‘The diocese’ finds its expression in the local communities in which it serves, in the form of parishes and special ministries. In other words, we are one church not a confederation of individual parishes and ministries. As such, we are governed by a diocesan synod.
Unlike the United Church, a local Anglican church is not an independent congregation. Parishes in the diocese are not corporations and therefore have no legal existence apart from the diocese. Parishes can be created, merged, and disestablished by Synod, by the Diocesan Council or in special circumstances, at the initiation of the Bishop.
Our clergy are not employees of the parish, but of the diocese and are licensed by and to the Bishop, who is the incumbent of all parishes, and whose ministry is shared by the clergy. A part of the work of the clergy, therefore, is always to serve the wider church as well as the local expression of the diocese.
And a Parish?
Parishes (otherwise called churches) are care-takers commissioned with the sacred duty of stewarding the local expression of the diocese, as long as it is able, with the knowledge that others will come after them to do the same or different ministry in that place on behalf of the whole church.
And What About this Diocesan Apportionment?
Each year, a portion of every parish budget goes to support the church as a whole. Together, we enable the ministry of the diocese and the global church. The parish tithe towards this common work of the Anglican church and the diocese, as it is expressed elsewhere, is the diocesan apportionment.
Our parishes directly benefit from the common purse and are supported to do their own work through access to expert administrative, communication and legal advice, as well as pastoral leadership and care, interim ministry coverage, lay and clergy formation, and sometimes even by receiving funds back from the common purse. All of this work is administered at the synod office (similar to a head office of a large organization).