D057 Amend Canon III.5.2 to delete duplicated language
Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,
That Canon III.5.2. be amended to read as follows:
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Sec. 2. No Nominee, Postulant, or Candidate for ordination shall sign any of the certificates required by this Title.
a. Whenever the letter of support of a Vestry is required, the letter must be signed and dated by at least two-thirds of all of the members of the Vestry, at a meeting duly convened, and by the Rector or Priest-in-Charge of the Parish, and attested by the Clerk of the Vestry. Should there be no Rector or Priest-in-Charge, the letter shall be signed by a Priest of the Diocese acquainted with the nominee and the Parish, the reason for the substitution being stated in the attesting clause.
b. If the congregation or other discernment community of which the nominee is a member is not a Parish, the letter of support required by Canon III.6 or Canon III.8 shall be signed and dated by the Member of the Clergy and the council of the congregation or other community of faith, and shall be attested by the secretary of the meeting at which the letter was approved. Should there be no member of the Clergy, the letter shall be signed and dated by a Priest of the Diocese acquainted with the nominee and the congregation or other community of faith, the reason for the substitution being stated in the attesting clause.
c. If the applicant is a member of a Religious Order or Christian Community recognized by Canon III.14, the letters of support referred to in Canon III.5 or Canon III.6 and any other requirements imposed on a congregation or Member of the Clergy may be given by the Superior or person in charge, and Chapter, or other comparable body of the Order or Community.
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Sec. 2. No Nominee, Postulant, or Candidate for ordination shall sign any of the certificates required by this Title.
a. Testimonials required of the Standing Committee by this Title must be signed by a majority of the whole Committee, at a meeting duly convened, except that testimonials may be executed in counterparts, any of which may be delivered by facsimile or other electronic transmission, each of which shall be deemed an original.
b. a. Whenever the letter of support of a Vestry is required, the letter must be signed and dated by at least two-thirds of all of the members of the Vestry, at a meeting duly convened, and by the Rector or Priest-in-Charge of the Parish, and attested by the Clerk of the Vestry. Should there be no Rector or Priest-in-Charge, the letter shall be signed by a Priest of the Diocese acquainted with the nominee and the Parish, the reason for the substitution being stated in the attesting clause.
c. b. If the congregation or other discernment community of which the nominee is a member is not a Parish, the letter of support required by Canon III.6 or Canon III.8 shall be signed and dated by the Member of the Clergy and the council of the congregation or other community of faith, and shall be attested by the secretary of the meeting at which the letter was approved. Should there be no member of the Clergy, the letter shall be signed and dated by a Priest of the Diocese acquainted with the nominee and the congregation or other community of faith, the reason for the substitution being stated in the attesting clause.
d. c. If the applicant is a member of a Religious Order or Christian Community recognized by Canon III.14, the letters of support referred to in Canon III.5 or Canon III.6 and any other requirements imposed on a congregation or Member of the Clergy may be given by the Superior or person in charge, and Chapter, or other comparable body of the Order or Community.
Explanation
Canon 5 of Title III sets forth General Provisions Respecting Ordination, and Section 2 of that Canon specifies the details consequent upon the principle that no applicant for ordination to any order signs any certificate required by their own process. Resolution 2015-A119 amended then III.5.2.b regarding signature of "testimonials" (it has since been renumbered as subsection (a)) to add that signed counterparts can be delivered by electronic transmission or facsimile. Because Canon 5 covered all Title III ordinations, it referred to "Testimonials required of the Standing Committee by this Title".
Resolution 2018-A282 amended Canon III.11.3, regarding testimonials for Standing Committee consents to episcopal elections by copying the language from III.5.2.b and inserting it as a new III.11.3.c. But it made no corresponding deletion of the text from III.5.2.
Current proposed Resolution A039 aims to correct the reference from "this Title" to "this Canon" in III.11.3.c, which is correct. The only Standing Committee "testimonials" required in all of Title III, however, are those referenced in III.11.3. The duplicative language remaining in Canon III.5.2 should, therefore, be deleted and subsequent subsections renumbered.