A091 Definition of doctrine
Resolved, the House of ________________ concurring,
That the 81st General Convention amend the definition of “Doctrine” in Canon IV.2 to read as follows:
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IV.2.
Doctrine shall mean the basic and essential teachings of the Church and is to be found in the Canon of Holy Scripture as understood in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds and in the sacramental rites, the Ordinal and Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer. For the purposes of this canon, the Book of Common Prayer and any Book of Common Prayer memorialized by General Convention are understood as sufficient statements of the doctrine of this Church.
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IV.2.
Doctrine shall mean the basic and essential teachings of the Church and is to be found in the Canon of Holy Scripture as understood in the Apostles and Nicene Creeds and in the sacramental rites, the Ordinal and Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer. For the purposes of this canon, the Book of Common Prayer and any Book of Common Prayer memorialized by General Convention are understood as sufficient statements of the doctrine of this Church.
Explanation
Canon IV.4.1.h.2 specifies that all members of the clergy shall refrain from “holding and teaching publicly or privately, and advisedly, any Doctrine contrary to that held by the Church.” Therefore, any addition to or amendment of “the sacramental rites, the Ordinal and Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer” has potential disciplinary implications for members of the clergy whose beliefs would no longer be reflected in the Book of Common Prayer as defined in Article X of the Constitution of the Episcopal Church. This addition would ensure that neither the emendation of the Book of Common Prayer to include a marriage service for use by opposite-sex or same-sex couples nor the alteration of the understanding of marriage presented in the Catechism to remove reference to gender would place members of the clergy who believe that marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman in violation of Title IV or their ordination vows.