REGULATION 2: Of the Bishop

 

  1. The Bishop shall have and use the title and dignity of BISHOP OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, and is the Senior Trustee of the Diocese.

 

#SYMBOL 42 f “Symbol” s 11#lA. (a) No priest having attained the age of sixty-five (65) shall be eligible for election to the office of Bishop.

 

(b) The Bishop shall vacate office on attaining the age of seventy-two (72) years

 

(c) For all purposes the Bishop is deemed to have retired with consent:

 

(i) on vacating office at any time after attaining age sixty-five (65)

 

(ii) on resigning the See on or at any time after attaining the age of sixty-five (65) years; or

 

(iii) if the See is declared vacant by the Archbishop for inability of the Bishop, arising from physical or mental infirmity, to discharge the duties of his office.

 

  1. If the Bishop proposes to resign the See, he shall notify the Archbishop in writing of his intention to do so and of the date upon which he desires his resignation to take effect; and if there is no Vicar-General, the Archbishop may thereupon appoint a Vicar-General or take such other Order as he may think fit for the administration of the Diocese during the vacancy.

 

  1. If the Bishop dies or is certified by two fully qualified medical practitioners to be unable by reason of physical or mental infirmity to discharge the duties of his office, the Vicar-General or, failing him, the Archdeacon shall forthwith notify the Archbishop; and, until the Archbishop shall have taken order in like manner as is provided in the case of a resignation of the See, the Vicar-General or, failing him, the Archdeacon shall administer the Diocese.

 

  1. If the Bishop during his absence from the Diocese resigns the See or dies, the Vicar-General himself shall, notwithstanding the lapse of his office, perform such acts of administration of the Diocese (except that of making permanent appointments) as may be necessary, until the Archbishop has taken order for the administration during the vacancy of the See.

 

  1. (a) Whenever a vacancy in the See has been formally notified by the Archbishop to the Vicar-General or other person for the time being administering the Diocese, that person shall within fourteen (14) days summon the Council; and the Council shall forthwith call a meeting of Synod for the purpose of providing a Bishop for the See.

 

(b) The Council shall give not less than ten (10) days’ notice of the time, place and purpose of the Synod.

 

  1. (a) The session of the Synod summoned for the purpose of electing a Bishop is the Elective Assembly, and on the day appointed, the Litany shall be said or sung and the Holy Eucharist celebrated.

 

(b) At its first meeting the Elective Assembly shall by majority vote decide whether it will elect the Bishop or delegate the choice to a Selection Committee appointed by the Assembly.

 

  1. (a) If the Elective Assembly decides to elect a Bishop, the president shall adjourn the meeting for twenty-eight (28) days.

 

(b) The Secretary of the Synod shall notify members of the Elective Assembly of that decision and invite nominations.

 

(c) No person shall be eligible for nomination unless he is a Bishop or Priest of not less than thirty (30) years of age of the Province of the West Indies or of a Church in Communion with the Province.

 

(d) No nomination shall be received by the Secretary unless it is signed by two (2) members of the Elective Assembly, one (1) of whom is a Clerk in Holy Orders.

 

(e) The consent of each nominee shall first be obtained in writing.

 

(f) Nominations shall be delivered to the Secretary at the Diocesan Office within twenty-one (21) days after the adjournment of the Assembly.

 

  1. At the expiration of twenty-eight (28) days from the adjournment, the Elective Assembly shall meet and proceed as follows:

 

(a) A candidate for election is disqualified from presiding at the Elective Assembly

 

(b) A quorum for the election of a Bishop shall be three quarters each of the clerical and lay members of Synod.

 

(c) The President shall nominate two (2) Clergymen and two (2) Laypersons as tellers.

 

(d) The Clerical and Lay members of the Elective Assembly present shall vote in separate Orders by voting papers, each voting for one (1) person only of those who have been duly nominated.

 

(e) Each voting paper shall be collected and examined by the tellers and the result openly declared by the President.

 

(f) If any one (1) person has received no less than two-thirds (2/3) of the votes of the members of each Order present that person shall thereupon be declared elected.

 

(g) If no one (1) person has received the two-thirds (2/3) majorities of the votes the name of the person who has received the least number of votes shall be withdrawn and the voting shall be repeated in like manner for not more than three (3) further ballots.

 

(h) There shall be a recess after the results of each ballot has been announced.

 

(i) If no person is duly elected, the President shall adjourn the Elective Assembly for a period of twenty-eight (28) days and the Secretary shall invite nominations anew; and the provisions of paragraphs 7(b) to (f) and 8(a) to (h) shall apply.

 

(j) If no person is thereafter duly elected, or if there has been no nomination under paragraph 7 or 8 (i) the Elective Assembly shall delegate the choice of the Bishop to a Selection Committee.

 

  1. When a Bishop has been elected, the election shall be reported to the Archbishop by the President of the Elective Assembly for confirmation by a majority of the Bishops of the Province.

 

  1. If a majority of the Bishops refuse to confirm the election of a Bishop, the Elective Assembly may proceed to a third election or delegate the selection of a Bishop to a Selection Committee.

 

  1. (a) When the Elective Assembly decides to delegate the choice of a Bishop to a Selection Committee it may do so either:

 

(i) to a Committee of persons within the Diocese, or

 

(ii) to a Committee of persons some or all of whom are from outside the Diocese; and the Archbishop or, when there is no Archbishop, the Senior Bishop of the Province shall be added to the Committee, and he shall have an equal vote with the other members of the Committee.

 

(b) When a Bishop has been selected the President shall report the selection to the Archbishop for confirmation by a majority of the Bishops of the Province.

 

  1. Should the choice of the Selection Committee not receive confirmation, the same Committee or another Committee may be requested by the Elective Assemb1y to make a new selection.