General Synod is the legislative body of the Church of England. Together with the Westminster Parliament, it is the only body in the land which is entitled to make national law for England.
Legislative Measures passed by the Church of England are signed off by the King as Head of State. In addition to legislation, the General Synod also agrees the national Budget for the Church of England and debates a wide range of public and social issues from the perspective of a faith organisation.
The General Synod has three Houses: Bishops, Clergy and Laity.
Diocesan bishops are automatically members of Synod by virtue of their office. In addition, each province of the Church of England elects a number of suffragan bishops from each Province. Each diocese is allocated a number of seats in the Houses of Clergy and Laity – the number of seats varies according to the size of each diocese.
The current Canterbury Diocese representatives are:
Bishop
- The Rt Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin
Clergy
- The Revd Barney de Berry
- The Venerable Darren Miller
- The Revd Rachel Webbley
Laity
- David Kemp
- Neil Logan-Green
- Catherine Richardson