Dioceses may be united into Provinces in such manner, under such conditions, and with such powers, as shall be provided by Canon of the General Convention; Provided, however, that no Diocese shall be included in a Province without its own consent.
CANON 9: Of Provinces :
constituted. Sec. 1. Subject to the proviso in Article VII of the Constitution, the Dioceses of this Church shall be and are hereby united into Provinces as follows:
The First Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.
The Second Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of New York and New Jersey, the Dioceses of Haiti and the Virgin Islands, and the Convocation of American Churches in Europe.
The Third Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.
The Fourth Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Louisiana, except for the portion thereof consisting of the Diocese of Western Louisiana.
The Fifth Province shall consist of the Diocese of Missouri, and of the Dioceses within the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
The Sixth Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
The Seventh Province shall consist of the Dioceses of Western Louisiana and of West Missouri, and of the Dioceses within the States of Arkansas, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.
The Eighth Province shall consist of the Dioceses within the States of Idaho, Utah, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, California, Arizona, Alaska, and Hawaii, the Diocese of Taiwan and the Area Mission of Navajoland.
The Ninth Province shall consist of the Dioceses of this Church in Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, and Puerto Rico.
Section 2(b) of the same Canon :
Dioceses. (b) By mutual agreement between the Synods of two adjoining Provinces, a Diocese or Area Mission may transfer itself from one of such Provinces to the other, such transfer to be considered complete upon approval thereof by the General Convention. Following such approval, Canon I.9.1 shall be appropriately amended.
Section 3 of the same Canon
Sec. 3. For the purpose of the Province the Synodical rights and privileges of the several Dioceses within the Province shall be such as from time to time shall be determined by the Synod of the Province.
Certain Canons on Membership of the Provincial Synod Omitted...
Section 8 of the same Canon
Sec. 8. The Provincial Synod shall have power: (a) to enact Ordinances for its own regulation and government; (b) to elect judges of the Provincial Court of Review; (c) to perform such duties as many be committed to it by the General Convention; (d) to deal with all matters within the Province; Provided, however, that no Provincial Synod shall have power to regulate or control the internal policy or affairs of any constituent Diocese; and Provided, further, that all actions and proceedings of the Synod shall be subject to and in conformity with the provisions of the Constitution and the Canons for the government of this Church; (e) to adopt a budget for the maintenance of any Provincial work undertaken by the Synod, such budget to be raised in such manner as the Synod may determine; (f) to create by Ordinance a provincial Council with power to administer and carry on such work as may be committed to it by the General Convention, or by the Presiding Bishop and the Executive Council, or by the Synod of the Province. Powers of Provincial Synod.
Section 9 of the same Canon
Sec. 9. The Synod of a Province may take over from the Executive Council, with its consent, and during its pleasure, the administration of any given work within the Province. If the Province shall provide the funds for such work, the constituent Dioceses then members of, and supporting, such Province shall receive proportional credit therefor upon the quotas assigned to them for the support of the Program of the Church, provided that the total amount of such credits shall not exceed the sum appropriated in the budget of the Executive Council for the maintenance of the work so taken over.
Section 10 of the same Canon
Sec. 10. Within sixty days after each session of the General Convention, the Presidents of the two Houses thereof shall refer to the Provincial Synods, or any of them, such subjects as the General Convention may direct, or as they may deem advisable, for consideration thereof by the Synods, and it shall be the duty of such Synods to consider the subject or subjects so referred to them at the first meeting of the Synod held after the adjournment of the General Convention, and to report their action and judgment in the matter to the Secretary of the House of Bishops and to the Secretary of the House of Deputies at least six months before the date of the meeting of the next General Convention.
Article VI, Section 1-2 of the Constitution...
Sec. 1. The House of Bishops may establish a Mission in any area not included within the boundaries of any Diocese of this Church or of any Church in communion with this Church, and elect or appoint a Bishop therefor.
Sec. 2. The General Convention may accept a cession of the territorial jurisdiction of a part of a Diocese when such cession shall have been proposed by the Bishop and the Convention of such Diocese, and consent thereto shall have been given by three-fourths of the Parishes in the ceded territory, and also by the same ratio of the Parishes within the remaining territory. Any territorial jurisdiction or any part of the same, which may have been ceded by a Diocese under the foregoing provision, may be retroceded to the said Diocese by such joint action of all the several parties as is herein required for its cession, save that in the case of retrocession of territory the consent of Parishes within the territory retroceded shall not be necessary; Provided, that such action of the General Convention, whether of cessionor retrocession, shall be by a vote of two-thirds of all the Bishops present and voting and by a vote by orders in the House of Deputies in accordance with Article I, Section 5, except that concurrence by the orders shall require the affirmative vote in each order by two-thirds of the Dioceses.
Canon I.11.4(f)
(f) At the request of the Convention of a Missionary Diocese, supported by the presentation of relevant facts and a reasonable plan, the General Convention may by joint Resolution (1) permit the Diocese seeking autonomy to unite with another Province, or Regional Council having metropolitical authority, of the Anglican Communion, or (2) permit the Diocese seeking autonomy but not planning to unite with another Province or Regional Council, to unite with no less than three (3) other viable Dioceses at the same time which are geographically contiguous, or so located geographically as to be considered of the same region, for the purpose of establishing a new Province, or new Regional Council having metropolitical authority, of the Anglican Communion.
In other words, suppose that Pittsburgh, San Joaquin, Quincy, Dallas, Fort Worth, and South Carolina wish to affiliate after the next General Convention with another Province but have some autonomy until then. Unfortunately, it is impossible for them to do so as Province X under the present Canons. Thus, this series of actions would need to happen.
1. By agreement between Province III and Province V, Pittsburgh becomes part of Province V.
2. By agreement between Province VII and Province V, Quincy and Pittsburgh become part of Province VII.
3. By agreement between Province VII and Province IV, South Carolina becomes part of Province VII.
4. By agreement between Province VII and Province VIII, San Joaquin becomes part of Province VII.
5. By cession of the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, Quincy, South Carolina, San Joaquin, Dallas, and Fort Worth, the Missionary Dioceses of the Allegheny, Hickory Grove, Charleston, Stockton, Plano, and Watauga are erected. The parishes who do not wish to join are allowed to remain part of the extant dioceses by clever boundary drawing.
6. General Convention approves the cession in 2009 and the Missionary Dioceses affiliate with their preferred metropolitical authority who now can draw boundaries as big as they want, govern their own ordination process, and be subject to canon law other than that of PECUSA.
7. Dioceses of Pittsburgh etc. elect new bishops once Missionary Dioceses erected with former Diocesans moving to Missionary Dioceses.
Until next time, the Holy Brothers pray that the good Lord deliver us from all false doctrine, heresy, schism; from hardness of heart, and contempt of thy Word and commandment.
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