It would seem that the Crown Nominations Commission (CNC) has failed to conclude its deliberations this week. Press reports that this is the case appear to be confirmed by the official statement that “the work of the Commission continues”.

Why is the CNC undecided and what can break the deadlock? To try to answer this it is necessary to understand matters of both composition and process within the CNC. These are set out in General Synod Standing Orders (para 122).

Composition

There are 16 full voting members of the Commission whereas usually there are only 14. This is because the appointment of the Archbishop of Canterbury introduces both a lay Chair chosen by the Prime Minister (Lord Luce) and a Primate of the Communion (Barry Morgan, Archbishop of Wales). In addition there are six members elected by Canterbury diocese and two bishops elected by the House of Bishops (to replace the two Presidents, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York). All 10 of these members have little or no experience of CNC processes. Then there are the 6 permanent members – 3 lay and 3 clergy – elected by General Synod most of whom have several years’ service and much experience in selecting bishops. One complicating factor is therefore that usually there are 8 permanent and experienced members and 6 new members (from the vacant diocese) but this time there are only 6 permanent members and 10 new members and neither Archbishop is present.

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Filed under: * Anglican - Episcopal • - Anglican: Analysis • Archbishop of Canterbury • Anglican Provinces • Church of England (CoE) • CoE Bishops • * Culture-Watch • Religion & Culture • * International News & Commentary • England / UK

1. MarkP wrote: I see all the priests on the CNC are “The Rev. Canon”. Can someone tell me what exactly is implied by “Canon” in the CofE? September 29, 11:22 am | [comment link]

2. yohanelejos wrote: In what possible way would Bishop Morgan be a good representative of the interests of the Communion as a whole?!? September 29, 12:25 pm | [comment link]

3. Cennydd13 wrote: None, in my opinion. September 29, 2:32 pm | [comment link]

4. Sarah wrote: An informative and interesting article. I had to smile at this, though: “In other words, if 6 members are unwilling to vote for a candidate, members will keep voting until a candidate has 11 votes.  If that does not happen then deadlock has been reached and the CNC composition means there are fewer experienced mediators who have worked through such difficult situations in the past and may recognise the need to shift their vote to assist the process.” Well . . . or, you know . . . it could be just that those on the CNC recognize that the two different gospels represented by the various candidates are antithetical and mutually opposing. There is that possibility. Once that realization occurs, then no amount of “experienced mediators” will fix the chasm between the two. The only thing that happens is that the believers in one of the antithetical foundational worldviews yields. Thank God that it is obvious that we are so divided between two faiths—and that that division has resulted in such consequences. September 29, 8:30 pm | [comment link]

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