Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 1992
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
Church of England(Miscellaneous Provisions)Measure 1992
1992
A Measure passed by the General Synod of the Church of England to amend the law relating to sequestration; to make further provision with respect to the appointment of new patrons; to make further provision with respect to the conduct of funeral services and rights of burial; to enable parochial church councils to hold advowsons; to amend the law relating to the resignation of incumbents; to amend the law relating to the tenure of office of diocesan chancellors and registrars; to clarify the law relating to archdeacons' visitations; to clarify the law relating to the appointment of rural deans; to amend the law relating to the appointment of canons in cathedral churches; to amend section 27 of the Cemeteries Clauses Act 1847, section 11 of the Benefices Act 1898, sections 13, 16 and 17 of the New Parishes Measure 1943, section 5 of and the First Schedule to the Church Commissioners Measure 1947, sections 4 and 5 of the Diocesan Stipends Funds Measure 1953, section 12 of the Cathedrals Measure 1963, sections 55 and 56 of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963, section 1 of the Benefices Measure 1972, sections 3, 4 and 5 of the Cathedrals Measure 1976, sections 20, 23, 24 and 38 of the Endowments and Glebe Measure 1976, the Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978, section 2 of the Dioceses Measure 1978, sections 29, 54 and 68 of and Schedules 4, 6 and 7 to the Pastoral Measure 1983, section 9 of and Schedule 2 to the Patronage (Benefices) Measure 1986 and section 5 of the Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988; to repeal certain enactments which are no longer of practical utility; and for purposes connected therewith.
[6th March 1992]
Part I
Miscellaneous Provisions
1 Sequestration.
(1) During the vacancy of a benefice and otherwise where the profits of a benefice are to be sequestered, the churchwardens of every parish comprised in the benefice and the rural dean and such other person as the bishop of the diocese concerned may appoint, if he considers it desirable to do so, shall be the sequestrators of the benefice, and any rule of law requiring the bishop of the diocese concerned to issue a writ of sequestration on a benefice becoming vacant shall cease to have effect.
(2) A writ of sequestration in respect of the profits of a benefice shall not be issued by any court—
(a) for the purpose of obtaining satisfaction of a debt owed by the incumbent of the benefice; or
(b) by reason of the bankruptcy of the incumbent; or
(c) for the purpose of applying the profits where the incumbent is unable by reason of age or infirmity of mind or body to discharge adequately the duties attaching to the benefice.
2 Conduct of funeral services.
(1) The performance of a funeral service in accordance with this section shall not require the consent or be subject to the control of the minister of the parish in which it is performed.
(2) The minister of a parish may perform a funeral service in any crematorium or cemetery situated in another parish if—
(a) the deceased person dies in the first-mentioned parish; or
(b) the deceased person was resident in the first-mentioned parish immediately before his death; or
(c) the name of the deceased person was on the church electoral roll of the first-mentioned parish immediately before his death.
(3) Without prejudice to section 2 of the Extra-Parochial Ministry Measure 1967 , a person licensed for the time being under that section to perform funeral services on premises forming part of or belonging to a university, college, school, hospital or public or charitable institution may perform a funeral service in any crematorium or cemetery if the deceased person was resident in any such premises or was employed by or enrolled as a student at the institution in question immediately before his death.
(4) The minister of a parish situated wholly or partly in an area—
(a) which is chargeable with the expenses of a cemetery; or
(b) for the use of which a crematorium or cemetery has been designated by the bishop of the diocese concerned,
shall, with respect to persons who are his own parishioners or who die in his parish or whose names are entered on the church electoral roll of his parish, where he is requested to do so, be under the same obligation to perform or arrange the performance of funeral services in the crematorium or cemetery as he has to perform or arrange the performance of funeral services in any churchyard of his parish.
(5) Section 11 of the Cremation Act 1902 (incumbent not to be obliged to perform burial service) shall cease to have effect.
(6) In this section—
‘minister’, in relation to a parish, means—
(a) the incumbent;
(b) in a case where the benefice to which the parish belongs is vacant (and paragraph (c) below does not apply), the rural dean;
(c) in a case where a suspension period applies to the benefice to which the parish belongs, the priest-in-charge (if any); and
(d) in a case where a special cure of souls in respect of the parish has been assigned to a vicar in a team ministry by a scheme under the Pastoral Measure 1983 or by his licence from the bishop, that vicar;
‘suspension period’ has the same meaning as in the Pastoral Measure 1983.
3 Burial of cremated remains.
(1) A person who has a right of burial in the churchyard or other burial ground of a parish shall have a right of burial therein of his cremated remains:
Provided that a person shall not have a right of burial of his cremated remains by virtue of this section in a churchyard or burial ground which has been closed by an Order in Council except in accordance with a faculty authorising the burial or in an area which has been set aside by a faculty for the burial of cremated remains generally.
(2) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that the bishop of a diocese may consecrate land in the diocese for the sole purpose of burying cremated remains.
4 Amendment of Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978.
(1) The Parochial Registers and Records Measure 1978 shall have effect subject to the amendments specified in Schedule 1 to this Measure.
(2) In the case of the first inspection carried out after the date of the coming into force of this section under section 9 of the said Measure as substituted by this section, the reference in subsection (3) of the said section 9 to the immediately preceding inspection shall be construed as a reference to the last inspection carried out under that section as originally enacted; and, if that last inspection was completed more than five years before that date, the reference in the said subsection (3) to five years shall be construed as a reference to six years.
(3) The amendment specified in paragraph 11 of the said Schedule 1 (substitution of new burial register form) shall not apply in relation to entries made in register books of burial before the said date.
5 Appointment of new patrons.
(1) In this section ‘relevant instrument’ means an instrument made in pursuance of the Church Building Acts 1818 to 1884 or otherwise under which the person who is for the time being the bishop of a diocese or the incumbent of a benefice or the holder of any other office has a right to be appointed a patron of a benefice in preference to any other person upon a vacancy occurring amongst the patrons.
(2) Where any bishop of a diocese, incumbent of a benefice or holder of an office who is a patron of a benefice to which any relevant instrument relates by virtue of his office ceases to be the bishop of the diocese, incumbent of the benefice or holder of the office, as the case may be, he shall cease to be such a patron.
(3) Where any bishop of a diocese, incumbent of a benefice or holder of an office has, by virtue of a relevant instrument, a right to be appointed a patron of a benefice in preference to any other person upon a vacancy occurring amongst the patrons he shall, upon such a vacancy occurring, without any deed of appointment or other process, become a patron of the benefice by virtue of his office unless he has previously resigned as patron of the benefice.
6 Amendment of section 5 of the Church of England \(Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988.
In section 5 of the Church of England (Ecumenical Relations) Measure 1988in subsection (2)(b) at the end there shall be inserted the words ‘or, in the case of a Church outside the United Kingdom, it is nominated by the General Synod for the purposes of this section by resolution’.
7 Amendment of Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963.
The Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1963shall have effect subject to the following amendments—
(i) in subsection (2) the words from ‘, within twenty-eight days’ to ‘conclusive,’ shall be omitted;
(ii) in subsection (3) at the beginning there shall be inserted the words ‘Subject to the provisions of the following subsection’ and the words ‘, within two months after the date mentioned in that subsection,’ shall be omitted;
(3A) A declaration shall not be made under this section after the expiry of the period of...
To continue reading
Request your trial