The key dimensions of the ministry of the Bishop are framed in the Book of Common Prayer in the Ordination of a Bishop, pages 512-523.
Coffee Hour (Appendix)
Specific responsibilities of the Bishop
The Ordination of a Bishop
Only the Bishop
The Ordination of a Bishop, national Church and diocesan Canons, New Jersey state statutes and other agreements set out specific responsibilities for the Bishop of Newark. Only the Bishop is specifically charged to be a Minister of Reconciliation and Guardian of the Faith. In summary, only the Bishop can:
- preside at Confirmation (Confirm),
- license lay ministries,
- issue marital judgments after divorce before re-marriage,
- make someone a Postulant for ordination,
- withdraw Postulancy at will,
- admit someone to Candidacy for Ordination,
- decide to ordain someone,
- give consent for real estate transactions (with the advice and consent of the Standing Committee),
- give final permission to congregations to call or release clergy,
- license clergy from other dioceses to function in this Diocese,
- accept Letters Dimissory for Clergy from other bishops in other dioceses,
- chair Diocesan Convention,
- call for Convention,
- call for a Special Convention (with the advice of the President of the Standing Committee),
- inhibit a clergyperson,
- receive Voluntary Renunciations of Holy Orders,
- invoke Ecclesiastical Discipline,
- pronounce judgment after Involuntary Submission to Discipline by a Clergyperson.
The Bishop in governance
The House of Bishops is a part of how the Church governs itself, and the Bishop is not a member of that House as a representative of Newark, but as a Bishop of the Holy, Catholic Church. Therefore it is a responsibility of the Bishop to be actively involved in the life of the national Church and Province II. The Bishop has additional roles in governance and collaboration with other judicatory heads and as head or honorary head of numerous organizations.
- The House of Bishops meets two times per year.
- The Provincial House of Bishops meets two times per year.
- The New Jersey bishops meet regularly.
- Judicatory heads of area faith groups meet regularly.
- The Bishop is the chair of committees and boards as prescribed by diocesan canon.
- The Bishop is Chair, President, or member of numerous organizations, committees, and commissions. In one of these capacities or otherwise, the Bishop may be sought for counsel or other attention by as many as 75 organizations, not including the districts, congregations and congregational groups.
Visiting congregations
The Canons require the Bishop to visit every congregation at least once every three years.
The Nominating Committee for the 10th Bishop of Newark
1802 Route 31 N • PMB 255 • Clinton, NJ 08809 USA