§ 3.14 p.m.
§ The LORD BISHOP OF CHESTER rose to move, That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Admission to Holy Communion Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent. The right reverend Prelate said: 20 My Lords, the desirability of this short but very important Measure arises from the fact that the Book of Common Prayer is annexed to the Act of Uniformity 1662. Its rubrics therefore have the force of law, and any departure from them represents, at any rate technically, a legal offence.
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Now at the end of the Order for Confirmation in the Book of Common Prayer there is a rubric which states:
And there shall none be admitted to the Holy Communion until such time as he be confirmed or be ready and desirous to be confirmed.
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The interpretation of this rubric has for long been the subject of controversy. In a judgment in 1870, Archbishop Tait stated:
As at present advised, I believe this rubric to apply solely to our own people,"—
that is. to members of the Church of England—
and not to those members of foreign or dissenting bodies who occasionally conform.
§ But in a long and learned opinion in 1965 the Legal Board of the Church Assembly took a contrary view and stated that a true construction of the relevant Acts and rubric made it clear that this rubric applies to everyone and not only to members of the Church of England. The situation is largely academic since there is a long tradition of occasional conformity by those who are not members of the Church of England; and in recent years the Convocations have made regulations to control the situation. But especially in view of the expanding opportunities and understanding presented by the ecumenical movement, it is desirable that such doubts as exist should be removed, and the Church of England should be able to make a Canon stating who may be admitted to the Holy Communion.
§ This is an enabling Measure, giving power to the General Synod of the Church of England to make a Canon dealing with this matter. A Canon cannot be presented for the Royal Assent until this Measure has been passed, but I can tell your Lordships that a draft Canon has been under consideration by the General Synod for some time, it has passed through all the stages of General Approval and Revision, it cannot be further amended, and it awaits final approval 21 which will depend upon the passage of this Measure. The draft Canon is drawn in very wide terms, and it will direct that there shall be admitted to the Holy Communion not only confirmed members of the Church of England but also baptised persons who are communicant members of other Churches which subscribe to the doctrine of the Holy Trinity and who are in good standing in their own Church. This, my Lords, is a liberalising Measure which reflects the new spirit in inter-church relations for which we must surely all be thankful. I trust that your Lordships will be ready to give it an Affirmative Resolution, and I so move.
§ Moved, That this House do direct that, in accordance with the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, the Admission to Holy Communion Measure be presented to Her Majesty for the Royal Assent.—(The Lord Bishop of Chester.)
§ On Question, Motion agreed to.