1. PURPOSE
The purpose of the Order is to honour and give special recognition to members of the Diocese (and in the case of Honorary Awards, those not part of the Diocese) who have given outstanding service over a significant period of time in their baptismal ministry.
2. INTERPRETATION
The definitions in this section apply in this Constitution.
“Bishop” means the Bishop of the Diocese of British Columbia
“Council” means the advisory council established by section 3.
“Member” means a member of the Order.
“Officer” means an officer of the Order.
“Order” means the order of the Diocese of British Columbia
“Order Cycle” means the period of time from one installation to another, which is expected to be, but not restricted to, every 2 years. [Canon 10 amended, 100th Synod, 2021]
"Rector" means and includes the incumbent priest or the priest-in-charge of a parish
“Registrar” means the registrar of the Diocese of British Columbia
“Secretary” means the secretary of the order.
3. COMPOSITION
The Order shall consist of the incumbent bishop of the Diocese, former bishops of the Diocese, officers, members, honorary officers and honorary members.
4. ADMINISTRATION
A) The incumbent bishop of the diocese is the head of the Order and is an officer in the Order. At the end of the episcopate the bishop ceases to be the head of the Order but continues as an officer within the Order.
B) The bishop is responsible for the administration of the Order.
C) The secretary of the Order is responsible for
(i) maintaining the records of the Order and of the council;
(ii) arranging for investitures; and
(iii) performing such other functions in respect of the Order as the Bishop may request.
D) The bishop may appoint such officials for the administration of the Order as the bishop considers necessary.
5. COUNCIL
A) The advisory council for the Order shall consist of the following members:
(i) The chair of the council, which shall be the bishop unless the bishop appoints another;
(ii) an archdeacon of the Diocese;
(iii) another member of the clergy of the Diocese;
(iv) no more than three (3) lay members of the Diocese.
B) Members of the council serve at the pleasure of the bishop but for no longer than three (3) Order cycles.
C) The bishop may, extend the term of one or more members of the council appointed by one more Order cycle.
D) The council shall:
(i) Consider all those nominations submitted to the bishop for officer and member;
(ii) Compile and submit to the bishop a list of those recommendations from the nominees in the divisions of officer and member; and
(iii) Advise the bishop on such matters as the bishop may refer to the council.
6. ELIGIBILITY
A) Officer: Any lay member of the Diocese, or retired clergy of the Diocese, may be appointed as an officer of the Order.
B) Member: Any lay member of the Diocese may be appointed as a member of the Order.
C) Honorary Officer: A lay person who is not a member of the Diocese; or clergy who is not a member of the Diocese; may be appointed as an honorary officer.
D) Honorary Member: A lay person who is not a member of the Diocese may be appointed as an honorary member.
E) A person is not a member of the Order by reason only of being appointed a member of the council or an official of the Order.
7. NOMINATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS
A) Nominations for officer and member, as noted below, may be submitted to the bishop for consideration by the council and in turn confirmed by the bishop, at any time during the nomination period. Nominations must be made on the rank specific nomination form designated for that Order cycle.
B) The bishop may personally appoint in each Order cycle a maximum of two (2) officers and five (5) members.
C) The awarding of honorary awards is within the purview of the bishop and shall be no greater than one (1) honorary officer and three (3) honorary members in any Order cycle.
D) Officer
(i) Appointment of persons as officers shall be made for extraordinary voluntary commitment and exemplary voluntary service to the Diocese of British Columbia and/or the Anglican Church of Canada.
(ii) Nominations may be submitted by any member of the Diocese and supported by four (4) other members of the Diocese, each one from a different parish. At least two (2) of the five (5) nominators must be active clergy of the Diocese.
(iii) The number of officers appointed in any Order cycle, other than those in the bishop’s personal gift noted in 7.B and 7.C shall not exceed five (5) persons.
E) Member
(i) Appointment of persons as members shall be made in recognition of their outstanding voluntary commitment and the voluntary service of their parish for an extended period; and/or voluntary work on behalf of the Diocese.
(ii) Nominations shall be submitted by the rector of a parish on behalf of the parish with respect to one of their parish members.
(iii) The number of Members, appointed in any Order cycle, other than those in the bishop’s personal gift noted in 7.B and 7.C shall not exceed one person per parish.
8. INSTRUMENT OF APPOINTMENT
A) Appointments to the Order shall be made by instrument signed by the Secretary and Registrar of the Order and sealed with the Seal of the Order. [Canon 10 amended, 100th Synod, 2021]
B) Unless otherwise provided in the instrument of appointment, an appointment shall take effect on the date on which the instrument of appointment is sealed.
9. RANKS
The bishop may elevate any member to the rank of officer, such elevations falling within the maximum allowed under 7.B and 7.C
A) A person elevated to a higher rank is entitled to wear the insignia of the higher rank only.
B) No person shall hold more than one appointment to the Order at any time.
10. INSIGNIA
The insignia of the Order shall be drawn from the badge of the Diocese as the bishop prescribed, with a differentiation between officer and member. The insignia shall be suspended by the designated ribbon. officers, members, honorary officers and honorary members may wear such appropriate insignia as the Bishop may prescribe.
11. MOTTO
The motto of the Order shall be:
Faithfulness - This single word has been used to honour the faithful service over a considerable time by the members of the Order to their parish family, The Diocese of British Columbia and the wider church and community. It also acknowledges that our service is rooted in faithful service to the teachings of Christ.
12. INVESTITURE SERVICE
There shall be an investiture service at the conclusion of each Order Cycle at which the Bishop shall invest the new members of the Order or elevate a Member to the rank of Officer. At the Bishop’s discretion there may be two (2) investiture services; one in Victoria and the other in a location in or north of Nanaimo. [Canon 10 amended, 100th Synod, 2021]
13. TERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP IN THE ORDER
A person's membership in the Order ceases:
A) upon the death of the person;
B) when the bishop accepts the person's resignation from the Order, which resignation shall have been made in writing; or
C) when the bishop makes an ordinance terminating the person's appointment to the Order; and
D) upon termination of membership in the Order, as noted in B) or C) above, the regalia of the Order shall be returned to the Bishop. In the case of A) above, the insignia may be retained by the family. Such retention does not grant permission for another to wear the insignia. [Canon 10 amended, 100th Synod, 2021]
14. ORDINANCES
The bishop may make ordinances respecting the governance and insignia of the Order and the termination of a person's appointment to the Order.
15. SEAL
A) The seal of the Order, which is set out in the schedule, shall be committed to the custody of the bishop.
B) No appointment, termination of appointment, award or ordinance shall have effect unless it has been sealed with the seal of the Order.
16. BOOKS AND RECORDS
A) A record of all awards of the Order made shall be kept in a register (the “register”) into which all pertinent details of each award of the Order is subscribed, including but not limited to the recipient’s name, the date of the presentation of the awards, the recipient’s parish and the reason the award was made.
B) Each record in the register, which is signed by the registrar, shall be prima facie proof of the fact set forth therein.
C) The register shall be kept at the diocesan synod office unless the bishop directs the Secretary otherwise.
D) The register shall be maintained in accordance with the directions of the registrar.