The way a denomination is organized and governed is referred to as its - PDF document

The way a denomination is organized and governed is referred to as its polity polities of American Christian churches are congregational and episcopal. Interestingly enough, the Episcopal Church is not governed by episcopal polity. That would be where the bishops run the church, and is much more typical of the Roman Catholic Church. In such as who may be married in the church, what sort of services are to be performed, etc. Laity may have an active role in the work of the church, but not in determining In a congregational polity, the congregation is the basic unit of the church. Many protestant churches are mostly governed by fired by the congregation and most decisions reached by meetings of the body. Obviously, the lay leadership is the true basis for any sort of authority in this setting. I have even noticed around Louisa County that some churches have chosen pastors from among their own members, with no evidence of formal seminary training. The Episcopal Church usually ends up taking a middle of the road approach, and our polity is no exception. Our polity, which is referred to as Anglican polity, provides for the day-to-day operation of thultimately resides in the diocesan council. The basic unit is the diocese, but in practical matters many decisions are delegated to local clergy and vestries. Our clergy are formally trained at seminaries owned and operated by the church, but no one may attend a seminary with a goal of ordination unless sponsored by the bishop of a diocese, ed ministry in a diocese without a license from the diocesan bishop. Lay persons in formal ministries, such as lay readers and lay Eucharistic ministers, are alnsent of the bishop. There was a recent case in the Diocese of Washington where the bishop did not consent to a vestry's selection. Our constitution and canons are a product of the annual diocesan council, and each year et to consider changes. The council consists y of each church in the diocese plus all clergy, active and retired, who are licensed in our diocese. Voting is done as a single body. Things of church-wide interest, such as the national canons book, are decided by a national General Convention, which meets every three years, with representationbicameral, with the bishops, active and retired, meeting as the House of Bishops, and the elected representatives of each diocese, lay and clergy, meeting as the House of --Mr. Robert Thomas