Resolution A:
Amend Canon 5.06 – 
Clarifying the Role of Chancellor and Vice Chancellors

Status

Reviewed by the Committee on Canons

Resolved, that Canon V of the Canons of the Diocese of California be amended as follows

(deletions in bold strikethrough text and insertions in bold italic text):

Sec. 5.06. Chancellor.
At each Annual Convention the Bishop shall appoint a Chancellor of the Diocese and one or more Vice Chancellors, who shall must be persons learned in the law, to act as advisors to the Diocese and the Bishop in legal affairs. The Chancellor shall must be a communicant in good standing of The Episcopal Church. When not a Delegate or a Cleric, the Chancellor and each Vice Chancellor shall are entitled, ex officio, be entitled to a seat and voice in the Convention, but not to a vote. When a vacancy exists in the office of the Chancellor between Conventions, the Bishop shall may appoint a Chancellor to fill the vacancy and must report the appointment to the next Convention.

​​Explanation:

This change to the language of Canon 5.06 clarifies the Chancellor’s role as legal advisor to the Diocese, in line with the Chancellor’s duties described in several of the canons and current practice. This change also addresses the misapprehension, drawn from reading the current wording of Canon 5.06 out of context, that the Chancellor only advises the Bishop. The Chancellor will most often advise the Bishop, who has canonical and legal authority to make decisions for the Diocese in many instances, but the Chancellor also may—and regularly does—advise any other body or officer who is empowered under the Constitution and Canons or secular law to act on behalf of the Diocese in any given matter.

The change to the language also offers flexibility in the role of Vice Chancellors, who may be appointed by the Bishop from time to time to broadly assist the Chancellor in advising the Diocese, or who may be appointed to advise the Diocese on a specific legal matter.