REGULATION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Whereas by the Ordinance No. 14 of 1881,* intituled ” An Ordinance to amend the Ordinance No. 1 of 1870 intituled ‘ An Ordinance relating to the Fixed Civil Establishments of this Colony'”, the salaries and allowances payable to the Bishop and other ecclesiastical persons of the Church of England, out of the Colonial Treasury, have been prospectively abolished, and provision has been made for payment from time to time to trustees for the use of the said church until the 1st day of July, 1886, of the salaries and allowances payable in respect of offices which may become vacant before that date :

And whereas, in consequence of the prospective withdrawal of all State grants to the said church, it has been decided that all the right, title, interest, powers, and control of the Government held and exercised in and over all churches, the salaries and allowances in respect of which have been prospectively withdrawn, shall be transferred to trustees, save and except the right, title, and interest in the two churches herein-after mentioned, subject nevertheless in all respects to the same uses, conditions, and limitations and for the same purposes as the same are now held and exer-cised by the said Government:

And whereas by Ordinance No. 15 of 1881, ** entitled “An Ordinance for the appointment of Incorporate Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon “, all the right, title, interest, powers, and control held and exercised by the Government in and over all churches, the salaries and allowances in respect of which had been prospectively withdrawn (save and except as regards the churches of St. Peter, Colombo, and St. paul, Kandy), were transferred to certain trustees and their successors as a body corporate, pending the appointment of a governing body, to represent the said churches : And whereas it is expedient to repeal the said Ordinance No. 15 of 1881, and to make other provisions in lieu thereof, and to enable the Bishop, clergy, and the laity of the Church of England to make such arrangements for the management of their ecclesiastical property and affairs as they may think fit and necessary :

Be it therefore enacted by the Governor of Ceylon, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Council thereof, as follows ; –

* Expired. ** Repealed by Ordinance No. 6 of 1885.

1. This Ordinance may be cited as the Church of England Ordinance.

2. From and after the time when this Ordinance shall come into operation, it shall be lawful for the Bishop, clergy, and laity, being members of the Church of England in the diocese of Colombo, to hold synods, assemblies, or conventions at such places, in such manner, and for such purposes in connexion with their ecclesiastical affairs as to them shall seem fit, and to make and enforce regulations in connexion therewith, which shall be binding upon such persons as have either directly or indirectly assented thereto :

Provided that nothing herein contained shall authorize the imposition of any rate or tax upon any person or persons whomsoever, whether belonging to the said church or not, nor the infliction of any temporal punishment, fine, or penalty upon any person other than his suspension or removal from an office or privilege in or under the control of the said synod assembly, or convention, or the making of any rule or regulation contrary to the law of Ceylon.

3. It shall be lawful for the Bishop of Colombo, or his representative duly constituted, to fix the time and place for holding the first synod, assembly, or convention.

4. The first synod, assembly, or convention shall consist of the Bishop, the clergy of the Church of England being in priests’ orders, and the representatives of the laity.

5, All baptized laymen of twenty-one years of age and upwards, who shall subscribe to a declaration substantially in the form given in Schedule A, shall, subject to the provisions of section 6 of this Ordinance, have the right of voting at the election of representatives to the first synod, assembly, or convention upon being registered so to vote by the proper authority accordingly.

6. At the first synod, assembly, or convention the laity shall be represented by one representative for every congregation or group of congregations according to the number of members thereof, there being one representative where the persons of over fifteen years of age forming a congregation or group of congregations number over fifty and under one hundred and fifty ; two, where they number over one hundred and fifty and under three hundred; three, where they number over three hundred and under six hundred; four, where the number is above six hundred:

Provided that no congregation or group of congregations shall have more than four representatives. Every representative shall, before performing the duties of such, subscribe to a. declaration according to the form contained in Schedule B.

7. And after the first meeting, the synod, assembly, or convention shall have the power of determining the time when and place where its subsequent meetings shall be held, and the qualifications necessary to entitle the clerical and lay members of the Church of England to vote thereat.

8. It shall be in the power of such synod, assembly, or convention, having met as described above, afterwards to alter its constitution in any way, provided that no such change be made except with the consent of the Bishop of Colombo for the time being, and also of two-thirds of the whole order of clergy, and two-thirds of the whole order of lay representatives as above described.

9. It shall be lawful for the first or any subsequent synod, assembly, or convention held under the authority of this Ordinance, by any statute, ordinance, or resolution to be passed for such purpose, to nominate any number of persons, not less than five, being members of the Church of England, to act as a corporation, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, and upon such statute, ordinance, or resolution being recorded in the Registry of the Supreme Court such persons and their successors, to be appointed as hereinafter provided for, shall become a corporation, with continuance for ever, under the style of ” The Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon “, with full power and authority to have and use a common seal, and as trustees for the said church to receive, take, hold, or otherwise dispose of all descriptions of property, both real and personal, and shall and may be able and capable in the law to sue and be sued, answer and be answered, in any court or courts or elsewhere, in all actions or causes whatsoever for, touching, or concerning the same :

Provided that the seal of the said corporation shall not be affixed to any instrument except in the presence of three at least of the members of such corporation, who shall sign their names to the instrument in token of their presence, and such signing shall be independent of the signing of any person who may sign the instrument as a witness ;

Provided always that the change, succession, and removal of the members of the said corporation and the constitution and government thereof, and the beneficial uses and disposal of the property to be held in trust by them as aforesaid, shall be regulated, decided, and declared from time to time by the said synod, assembly, or convention, and shall be made subject to such regulations as may from time to time be made thereby in virtue of the powers conferred by this Ordinance.

10. All the right, title, interest, powers, and control in and over all churches with their appurtenances (save and except the churches of St. Peter, Colombo, and St. Paul, Kandy) which by Ordinance No. 15 of 1881* [* Repealed by Ordinance No. 6 of 1885. ] were proposed to be transferred to ” The Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England”, as referred to in that Ordinance, shall, upon such a body corporate as is referred to in this Ordinance coming into existence, forthwith become absolutely vested in such body corporate, as well as any other property which may in any manner or at any time hereafter devolve upon the said trustees in their capacity of the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England.

11. Until the first of such synods, assemblies, or conventions as are referred to in the previous provisions of this Ordinance shall have appointed the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon in terms of section 9 of this Ordinance, the properties, rights, and powers to be vested in the said Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon as herein before provided shall, in the meantime, be vested as follows : –

Provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall prevent or delay such properties, rights, and powers vesting in the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon so soon as they shall have been appointed ; and

Provided that no right, title, interest, power, and control which by the Episcopal Churches Ordinance is or may hereafter be vested in trustees appointed thereunder, save and except such right, title, interest, power, and control as by Ordinance No. 15 of 1881* [* Repealed by Ordinance No. 6 of 1885.] it was purported to convey to the Incorporated Trustees as therein bound, nor any right, title, interest, power, and control which by any deed or other instrument is or may hereafter be vested in the Bishop of Colombo, or his successors, or in any other trustees, for the benefit of the said church, shall vest in such Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon.

12. It shall be lawful for the synod, assembly, or convention held under the authority of this Ordinance, by any statute, ordinance, or resolution to be passed for such purpose, to make regulations for enabling the majority of the members of the congregation of any church, present and voting at a meeting to be held and convened in manner by the said regulations provided, to declare by resolution their desire that such church and all immovable property belonging or appertaining to such church shall absolutely vest in the Incorporated Trustees of the Church of England in Ceylon.

13.

14. In sections 12 and 13-

” church ” shall be construed to mean any Episcopal church not governed by the provisions of the Episcopal Churches Ordinance, which has not been brought under the operation of the provisions of the Non-Episcopalian Churches Ordinance, and any church not vested in any person or body corporate or originally vested in any trustee or trustees where the deed or instrument creating the trust contains no adequate provisions for the appointment of a new trustee or trustees, and the trustee or one or more of the trustees originally appointed may have died, or may have left Ceylon and be residing elsewhere, or may be desirous of being relieved from the duties thereof ;

“members of the congregation” shall mean all persons entitled to vote at the election of lay representatives of the church under the rules and regulations for the time being of the synod, assembly, or convention held under the authority of this Ordinance.

15. It shall be lawful for the said synod, assembly, or convention to make provision for the appointment and resignation of Bishops, and to admit any persons to be Bishops of Colombo, and when vacancies in the see occur, generally to regulate their tenure of office and their retirement or removal therefrom, and the persons so admitted shall be Bishops of Colombo for the purpose of this Ordinance, the Kandy Church Ordinance and of the Episcopal Churches Ordinance: Provided always that nothing be done at variance with the rights of the Bishop of Calcutta.

16.

17. The Diocese of Colombo of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (by whatsoever name called) shall for all intents and purposes be deemed to be a continuation of and identical with the Church of England in Ceylon sometimes called or known as ” The United Church of England and Ireland “, ” The Episcopal Churches in the Island of Ceylon “, or ” The Church of England in the Diocese of Colombo “, and all property, rights and privileges which belong to, and all duties and liabilities which have been imposed upon, the Church of England in Ceylon shall devolve upon the said Diocese of Colombo of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (by whatsoever name called), and the expressions ” The Church of England in Ceylon “, ” The United Church of England and Ireland “, ” The Episcopal Churches in the Island of Ceylon”, ” The Church of England in the Diocese of Colombo “, and all other expressions relating to the said Church of England in Ceylon heretofore used in all enactments, rules, regulations, deeds, contracts and writings of whatsoever nature or description shall henceforth be deemed to refer to the said Diocese of Colombo of the Ecclesiastical Province of the Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (by whatsoever name called).