The July gathering of the General Synod took place at the University of York from Friday 8th July. This wass the final Group of Sessions of the quinquennium (fixed five-year period) and there was a considerable amount of business to transact.

The agenda came under particular pressure because of the need to provide a substantial amount of time for Synod to consider whether to embark on the legislative process necessary for the admission of women to the episcopate. Time was also required for the second revision stage and final approval of the new Common Worship ordination services.

For those setting the agenda, this pressure was compounded by the unavoidable absence of the Archbishop of Canterbury and some other Bishops for a significant part of Sunday, due to various special services marking the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

FRIDAY's opening session, introductory formalities -the welcome of new members and guests- and minor business aside, focused on the Ordination Services. Subsequent revisions resulted in late-night meetings on Sunday, before the final version was put forward for approval on Monday.

Friday closed with the inevitable Questions session, when members of the Synod were permitted to address their queries to Synod Officers, the Chair of any body answerable to the Synod, and the Church Estates Commissioners. Questions ranged widely from the cost of Daily Prayer, to the effects of the Racial and Religous Hatred Bill.

SATURDAY began with legislative business, including the implementation of the new Clergy Discipline Rules, as part of the Clergy Discipline Measure 2003. There were also several miscellaneous provisions for approval.

These were followed by an important debate dealing with the Hind report, following up progress on the provision of ministerial education, after the adjourned debate in February. The latest report, Formation for Ministry: Reviewing Progress, summarises the current state of play, reviews the implementation to date, and requests the reaffirmation of the original vision with greater scope for variety and flexibility for each region.

This debate was followed by the first of two motions affecting the Church's relation to the wider world, in this case the issue of Assisted Suicide and Voluntary Euthanasia.

The Bishop of St Albans, Christopher Herbert, has led for the Church of England on this subject, and his diocesan synod has passed a motion calling on the Synod

"to stimulate an informed debate in the wider church and in the nation... [drawing on] the theological, moral and philosophical resources of our faith, and on the expertise of those in palliative medicine and pastoral care".

With the support of the Mission and Public Affairs Council, this debate aimed to raise awareness of the issues and endorse the call for engagement, advocacy and development in the public debate. The associated motion was passed almost unanimously (293 to 1).

Five years have passed since the House of Bishops was asked to monitor the implementation of guidelines on Communion before Confirmation and consider whether new regulations were required. The final business for Saturday considered the feedback, cf. Children and Holy Communion (GS1576).

The Synod reconvened on SUNDAY afternoon to consider Presence and Engagement, a paper focusing on the churches' task in a multi Faith society post 9/11.

Issues of inter-faith relations are now mainstream concerns for the Government and society. The paper presents findings from an investigation of the status quo in Church of England parishes with significant other faith communities, with both statistical and anecdotal results. The authors encouraged dioceses to review their long-term strategies for equipping and supporting clergy in such environments, calling for further reflection on the theological basis for engagement in multi-faith areas.

The Sunday session also handled certain legislative business (Parochial Fees), and the report on the future plans of the Church Urban Fund.

The Archbishop of Canterbury gave his Presidential Address on MONDAY morning, followed by a run of financial business including the follow-up to the Strategic Financial Review (related reports include Transparency and Accountability, GS1580A, and an interim report from the Resourcing Mission Group, GS1580B), and the Archbishops' Council's budget for 2006.

A break for lunch offered pause for thought before what may was perhaps the most turbulent debate: Women in the Episcopate (see GS 1557 & GS 1568 circulated in February, and the associated article). There were no new papers, as the motion being put forward requested simply:

"That this Synod

(a) consider that the process for removing the legal obstacles to the ordination of women to the episcopate should now be set in train;

(b) invite the House of Bishops, in consultation with the Archbishops’ Council, to complete by January 2006, and report to the Synod, the assessment which it is making of the various options for achieving this; and

(c) instruct the Business Committee to make sufficient time available in the February 2006 group of sessions for the Synod to debate the report, determine on what basis it wants the necessary legislation prepared and establish the necessary drafting group."

The Bishop of Chichester was called upon immediately afterwards, to speak against the motion. As may be seen from point (b) of the proposed motion, the House of Bishops has already initiated exploratory work on possible approaches so that it would be in a position to report back to the Synod in time for further debate in February 2006.

However in the event two out of proposed amendments were passed, involving significant changes to paragraph (b), which eventually read:

"(b) invite the House of Bishops, in consultation with the Archbishops’ Council, to complete by January 2006, and report to the Synod, the assessment which it is making of the various options for achieving the removal of the legal obstacles to the ordination of women to the episcopate, and ask that it give specific attention to the issues of canonical obedience and the universal validity of orders throughout the Church of England as it would affect clergy and laity who cannot accept the ordination of women to the episcopate on theological grounds; and"

Put to the vote, this historic motion was passed by the necessary two-thirds majority in each house.

The main business for TUESDAY focused on In the Spirit of the Covenant, an interim report on the implementation of the Anglican-Methodist Covenant. The report begins with biblical and theological reflections on the meaning of Covenant, intended to deepen the convenant's spirituality. It then highlights ways in which the Covenant is currently being put into practice.

The second half of the report concentrates on three areas of theological difference between the two Churches: the eucharistic elements and the method of their disposal, presidency at the Eucharist, and the interchangeability of ordained ministries. The authors draw out the issues at stake and, where appropriate, point to steps that could help the two Churches draw closer together. The Synod was not asked to resolve these sensitive matters at present, but to commend the report for further study throughout the Church of England.

The present quinquennium of the General Synod was then dissolved following the celebration of Holy Communion on Tuesday 12th July 2005.

A full list of General Synod papers published for the July 2005 session can be found in the General Synod July 2005 category of our online catalogue, or download a copy in MSWord document format - see top right.