Series - Clergy documents and registers

In 1879, the original (1859) Anglican Diocese of British Columbia was divided into three "sees" (bishoprics, dioceses): The Bishopric of British Columbia, The Bishopric of Caledonia and The Bishopric of New Westminster. The Bishopric or the Diocese of New Westminster consisted of the southern mainland of the civil province of British Columbia. It has been divided again twice: in 1899 with the creation of the Diocese of Kootenay and in 1914 with the creation of the Diocese of Cariboo. Since 1914 its boundaries have included the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley up to and including Yale, the Sunshine Coast and Howe Sound area. The original See city was New Westminster with Holy Trinity Church constituted as the Cathedral in 1892. By the 1910's the Bishop and Synod administration had moved to Vancouver. In 1929 Christ Church in Vancouver was constituted the Cathedral of the Diocese. The Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster convened for the first time on April 18, 1882. The Constitution of the Synod was adopted at the conference held for this purpose. The attendees decided the following: the name and the composition of the Synod; the appointment and maintenance of the clergy; the tenure and management of church property; the formation and constitution of parishes; and the regulations for offices of the church. In 1893, an "Act to Incorporate the Anglican Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster" was passed by the Legislative Assembly of the civil province of British Columbia permitting the incorporation of the Diocese of New Westminster as a Corporation Sole. The Anglican Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster Incorporation Act, 1893 (the;"Act") established the boundaries of the diocese, the right of Synod to deal with real and/or personal property, to invest funds and to borrow money, to adopt, alter, amend or annul the Constitution, Canons, and Rules of order of the diocese. Diocesan parishes can also incorporate under this act. The "Act" was last amended by the Legislative Assembly of the province of British Columbia in 1961. Currently, the Act is included with the most recent printing of the Constitution, Canons and Rules of Order (1998). The Constitution, Canons and Rules of order are undergoing periodical amendments as circumstances require. The Canons of the diocese are the ecclesiastical laws by which it is governed. Canons must be authorized by a resolution that is carried at Synod and sanctioned by the Bishop. They can be changed, amended, deleted and/or added to only by the Synod and the Bishop. Regulations provide detailed information relating to various diocesan procedures. Rules of Order are detailed procedures for the proper management of meetings of sessions of Diocesan Synod.