Confirmation of bishops

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

In

canon law the confirmation of a bishop is the act by which the election of a new bishop receives the assent of the proper ecclesiastical authority.[1]

Early history

In the early centuries of the history of the

papal confirmation was required either in the West or East; but the practice which grew up, from the 6th century onwards, of the popes presenting the pallium, at first honoris causa, to newly appointed metropolitans gradually came to symbolize the licence to exercise metropolitan jurisdiction.[1]

By the 8th and 9th centuries, the papal right of confirmation by this means was strenuously asserted; yet as late as the 13th century, there were instances of metropolitans exercising their functions without receiving the pallium, and it was not until after this date that the present rule and practice of the

False Decretals, began to claim this right for the pope.[3][1]

Confirmation and the papacy

From the 13th century onwards, it was effectively exercised, though the all but universal practice of the popes of reserving and providing to vacant bishoprics, initiated by

Protestant Reformation become firmly established, in spite of the efforts of Gallicans and Febronians to reassert what they held to be the more Catholic usage.[1]

Confirmation in the Church of England

It is the confirmation of the election which actually makes the candidate bishop of the diocese

— a Church of England review group, Working with the Spirit: Choosing Diocesan Bishops: a Review of the Operation of the Crown Appointments Commission and Related Matters, page 81, section 5.24

In

Martin V was elected pope in 1417 he resumed the practice of providing bishops, and from this time until the English Reformation the canonical election and confirmation of a bishop in England was a rare exception.[1]

With the independence of the

See of Chichester on the ground that they were not made in legal form. An informal protest against the confirmation of James Prince Lee as Bishop of Manchester in 1848 was almost immediately followed by another in due form against that of Renn Hampden, Bishop-elect of Hereford. The vicar-general refused to receive the objections and an application to the Queen's bench for a mandamus was unsuccessful, the judges being divided two against two.[1]

Around the time of Rowan Williams' confirmation to Canterbury in 2002, Lambeth Palace described the canonical election as "the choice of the bishop by the Diocese [they] will serve" and the confirmation as "the affirmation of [their] Election by the wider Church."[5] On that occasion (2 December 2002)[6] and at Justin Welby's confirmation (4 February 2013),[7] the respective Archbishops of York were assisted by eight bishops of the Province of Canterbury: the six other officers of the provincial chapter (London, Winchester, Salisbury, Worcester, Rochester, and Lincoln); plus the two next most longest-serving (i.e. Lichfield and Oxford in 2002,[6] Leicester and Norwich in 2013).[7]

Confirmation in the Church in Wales

Since its disestablishment and severance from the Church of England, the Church in Wales's procedures for electing and confirming bishops have developed differently. Under Chapter V (paragraph 11) of the current Constitution of the Church in Wales, a bishop's election is confirmed by the Bench of Bishops (i.e. such of the six diocesan bishops as are in post) "assembled in Synod".[8] As such, an assembly of the bishops in order to confirm an election has become known as a Sacred Synod.[9][10][11] The use of the term occurs as early as 1939,[12] and was in formal use by 1999.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Chisholm 1911, p. 906.
  2. ^ Hinschius, Paul. System des katholischen Kirchenrechts. 6 vol.
  3. ^ a b Febronius (Johann Nikolaus von Hontheim). De statu ecclesiae. 2nd ed, 1765.
  4. Rotuli Parliamentorum
    , iv. p. 71
  5. ^ "Background to the Confirmation of Election service". ArchbishopofCanterbury.org. Archived from the original on 3 February 2003. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Archbishop Rowan Williams confirmed in office as Archbishop of Canterbury". ArchbishopofCanterbury.org. 2 December 2002. Archived from the original on 15 January 2003. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Justin Welby confirmed as Archbishop of Canterbury at St Paul's Cathedral". ArchbishopofCanterbury.org. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 11 March 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Chapter V: The Archbishop and the Diocesan Bishops". The Church in Wales. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Monmouth Grapevine (page 3)" (PDF). Diocese of Monmouth. Winter 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Sacred Synod held". The Church in Wales. 5 January 2020. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  11. ^ "Election of new Bishop of St Davids". The Church in Wales. 2 October 2023. Archived from the original on 17 October 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  12. ISSN 0009-658X
    . Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via UK Press Online archives.
  13. . Retrieved 19 October 2023 – via UK Press Online archives.