This thesis examines one of the pillars of the constitutional link between Church and State. It focuses on the unique process by which Church legislations (Measures) are drafted by a legislative body of the Church (the General Synod) and presented to Parliament for approval. The thesis looks at the role played by Parliament and examines how well it performs this role. The responsibility for scrutinising Measures lies with a joint committee of both houses, the Ecclesiastical Committee. This Committee cannot amend a Measure and can only declare it expedient and present it before the House for approval or reject it. An analysis of this legislative process is missing in the current literature. This thesis aims to fill this gap and provide a study supported by case studies of this important legislative process. The first part of this thesis analyses this process in detail together with the role of the Ecclesiastical Committee. The case studies illustrate how parliamentary scrutiny of ecclesiastical measures has become more interventionist than the restrictive framework set up by the 1919 Enabling Act. The Appointment of Bishops Measure 1984 was passed by a deeply-divided Ecclesiastical Committee. Once the Measure reached the House of Commons, members of the Committee who had opposed it, presented their views before the House. The Measure was rejected by the Commons. The Clergy Ordination Measure 1989 faced a difficult passage through the Committee, as members were unhappy about the changed voting system used by the General Synod to pass this Measure. The Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 saw the Church having to concede to demands to include opponents to this Measure in the joint consultation process. The final case study is the Churchwardens Measure 2001, which was rejected twice by the Ecclesiastical Committee. Eventually the Measure was passed after the Church accepted all its recommendations. The third section with Comment and Analysis on the research addresses the wider context of Church-state relations today and the pressures and challenges upon the future of establishment and, with it, the place of Parliament in the making of ecclesiastical law. The greater scrutiny of ecclesiastical legislation has arguably ensured that the Church of England has been more open to broader opinions in society. On the other hand, the way in which the legislative procedure works has also sometimes enabled narrow interests in Parliament and in the Church to set the agenda or to block change. Although reform in the immediate future is unlikely, the link between Parliament and the Synod has been the object of criticism in some political and religious quarters (particularly from those who support disestablishment). At some point administrative changes to ecclesiastical law-making is likely. The thesis concludes that given the important role played by Parliament in legislating for the Church, misguided or badly structured reforms can have serious consequences for the established Church and the Monarchy to which it is so closely linked.

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Chapter I pages 1- 24 Consequent upon the separation of the temporal and ecclesiastical courts by the ordinance of William I, 1072 - 1076, it was necessary to decide : (a) What law could be applied in the Church courts? and (b) Over what matters they had jurisdiction? Due to the royal power and writs of prohibition the practical ascendency in deciding these matters belonged to the temporal courts. Nevertheless, it was a time not of fusion but of finding a modus vivendi and the canon law explained any seeming encroachment upon the jus commune by recognising local variations by the application of canonical custom. Chapter II pages 25 - 45 With the beginning of the sixteenth century the authority of the canon law began to be challenged. Hunne's Case epitomised the laity's opposition and this opposition was given jurisprudential and theological backing by Henry Standish who sowed the seeds of the receptionist doctrine- The watershed may be found in 1515; thereafter the common law was to achieve ascendency backed by the literary arguments of John Skelton, Simon Fish, Christopher St. German and Stephen Gardiner. Chapter III pages 46 - 95 The Reformation Parliament saw the beginning of ecclesiastical law as opposed to the canon law applied in England. Statutory regulation of Church life was extremely wide. Convocation in theory had a parallel place to that of Parliament but royal control of its legislative powers radically curtailed them and Convocation could not derogate from the common law, statute law or the King's prerogative. The revision of the canon law did not take place but the canon law was similarly limited. Moreover the study of the canon law was seriously curtailed.

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The thesis identifies the relevant canons in the 1983 Code of Canon Law and other norms and reviews the areas which require consultation with experts. Part I focuses on the administrative forum, in particular: art, architecture and finance; admission to and suitability for Holy Orders and Religious Institutes; and education. Part II examines the use of experts in relation to marriage nullity cases. THe dissertation suggests not only that through the use of experts the law of the Church enables a direct dialogue with expertise outside the faithful in wider society, but some practices concerning experts particularly in the judicial forum, in the work of the marraige tribunals studied, raise serious issues about compliance with the legal norms of the Church resulting in adverse implications for the exercise of rights of those affected by judical decisions in the field of marriage nullity, including non-Catholics.

Since the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland in 1871 there has been negligible academic exploration and scrutiny of its laws. This enterprise seeks to advance scholarship of that law generally. As an initial contribution, the sources of law of the Church of Ireland, until now never the subject of singular study, are identified and investigated. Part One identifies the sources: in the law of the State; in the Church’s primary and secondary sources; and in tertiary sources (quasi-legislation and soft law), including putative sources – custom, the wider Anglican legal economy, and ecumenical input. In Part Two, case studies in each of the arenas – civil, primary and secondary, and tertiary – investigate three concerns. First, the increasing impact of civil law on church law is evaluated as a recent phenomenon. Second, the internal church sources are examined to assesstheir accessibility, a test fundamental to the Rule of Law. Third, the extensive materials of recent decades are scrutinised and demonstrate an ever-growing reliance on informal instruments – quasi-legislation and soft law – governing the life of the Church. A detailed survey of the opinions and knowledge of church members undertaken in 2011 tests and informs the analysis of the sources. Throughout the study, however, the principal reliance is on a formidable array of primary materials: a broad spectrum of State laws; contemporary ecclesiastical legal materials (national and local); a wide range of historical documents, including the original papers of the General Convention 1870, the Minutes of the Legal Committee, one-hundred and forty-four Journals of the General Synod, eight centuries of pre-disestablishment statutes, and one thousand and fifty-four statutes of the General Synod. This identification and investigation of the sources of law of the Church of Ireland highlights weaknesses and makes the case for reform. The conclusion sets out the proposals for reform.

The Canons framed by the Council of Sardica in 343 have their historical background in the conflict between the Arian and the Nicene parties subsequent to the deposition of Eustathius of Antioch in about 328. Soon after the Council of Nicaea the controversy which had arisen from the teachings of the presbyter Arius of Alexandria was extended from a primarily doctrinal issue to include the divers factors of personal animosity, imperial politics and regional loyalty. For the Christian Church the fourth century was an age of organizational development and constitutional transition, and it was unfortunately beyond her capability to deal effectively with the abuses of jurisdiction and order to which these factors led. Although the Council of Sardica failed in its purpose to settle the personal and doctrinal differences between the Nicene and Arian parties, the Orthodox delegation issued what was at the same time a formal protest against injustice and a common agreement upon certain corrective principles. This declaration which is embodied in the Sardican Canons, while closely related to the legislation of previous councils, is unusual in two respects: one with regard to its singleness of purpose and the other with regard to its form and manner of publication. The concentration of the Sardican Canons upon jurisdictional problems affecting the episcopate and their transcendence of local or temporary limitations is unparalleled in any other series of conciliar legislation from the same period. Indeed, the legislative acts of the Sardican Synod are essentially an attempt to provide a constitutional framework for the episcopate. Thus, canons 1 and 2 condemn unauthorized and ambitious translations for personal or party gain, and canons 3a, 14 and 15 forbid visits by one bishop to the city of another in order to prevent situations from arising which might lead to this abuse. The latter two and canon 21, however, allow certain reasons for which visits may be made and specify their permissible length of duration. Canons 16, 18 and 19 are designed to preserve the integrity of the bishop's jurisdiction over his own clergy. Canon 5 provides for the consecration of bishops in a province which has been left shepherdless; canon 6 directs that bishops shall not be appointed for churches too small to be needful of them; and canon 13 forbids the hasty ordination of candidates for the episcopate, presbyterate or diaconate whose worthiness has not been proven. Canons 3c, 4, and 7 grant to a bishop deposed from his office the right to appeal his case to the Roman bishop who, if such appeal is made, shall appoint judges for a court of review and if he so chooses be personally represented by his presbyters. Canon 17 grants a similar right of appeal to presbyters and deacons. Finally, canons 8-12 restrict the causes of petitions which bishops may make to the imperial court, and define the way in which lawful petitions may be made. It may be acknowledged that the judgement of the bishops at Sardica was not impartial, and that their own motives and methods were not above reproach. It is, however, made evident from the Encyclical and other letters of the synod, and by the earlier letter of Pope Julius to the leaders of the Arian faction, that these acts of the Sardican Synod were primarily occasioned by the policy and actions of the Eusebian party in its endeavour to gain control of the important sees of the East through translations, depositions, and the exploitation of imperial favour.

Cette étude est entreprise dans la perspective de présenter l’évolution d’un projet de pastorale d’ensemble sous l’impulsion conciliaire mise en place de 1963 à 2000 dans le diocèse de Nice par trois évêques Mgr Mouisset, Mgr Saint-Macary et Mgr Bonfils. Elle s’articule autour de trois concepts : conversion, structures, évangélisation qui répondent aux trois critères définis par Mgr Saint-Macary pour l’opération « Diocèse 2000 » : proximité, coresponsabilité et évangélisation. L’étude de la démarche synodale de Nice nous renvoie à la vie en communion de l’Eglise locale. Parmi toutes les formes d’expression de la communion, nous retenons celle de la synodalité. Le processus de décision est fondamental dans un synode diocésain. Nous en rechercherons les mécanismes dans cette thèse. Nous verrons comment il s’articule à la « pastorale d’ensemble » ou pastorale de communion qui est la convergence profonde de toutes les formes d’action et de présence dans le monde, l’union et l’interpellation réciproque de toutes les forces apostoliques, prêtres, laïcs et religieux. Si donc, la « coresponsabilité de tous » rend compte de la mission du baptisé dans l’Église en tant qu’individu, la décision synodale traduit l’expression de la communauté des baptisés. Nous verrons si le processus de décision en émane ou non. Cette thèse veut répondre à la question de savoir si le processus de décision dans un synode diocésain, en tant que facteur de synodalité, tend à réguler la forme communionnelle de l’Eglise et reflète au moins partiellement la personnalité de l’évêque. Il s’agit d’une étude pluri disciplinaire. L’examen du processus synodal, dans son contexte théorique et pratique, repose sur les domaines de la sociologie religieuse, de l’ecclésiologie et du droit canonique / This study is undertaken with a view to present the evolution of an overall pastoral project under the conciliar impetus implementation of 1963 to 2000 in the diocese of Nice by three bishops : Mgr. Mouisset, Mgr. Saint-Macary and Mgr. Bonfils. It revolves around three concepts: conversion, structures, evangelization that meet the three criteria defined by Bishop Saint-Macary for "Diocese 2000" operation: proximity, shared responsibility and evangelization. The study of the Nice synodal process sends us back to life in communion with the local Church. Of all the forms of expression of communion, we retain that of synodality. The decision process is fundamental in a diocesan synod. We will look for its mechanisms in this thesis. We will see how it binds to the "overall pastoral" or pastoral communion that is the deep convergence of all forms of action and presence in the world, unity and mutual interpellation of all forces apostolic : priests, religious and laity. If so, the "co-responsibility of all" reflects the mission of the baptized in the Church as an individual, the synodal decision represents the expression of the community of the baptized. We'll see if the process of decision comes in or not. This thesis wants to answer the question of whether the decision process in a diocesan synod as synodality factor tends to regulate the communal aspect of the Church and at least partly reveal the personality of the bishop. This is a multi disciplinary study. The review of the synod process, in its theoretical and practical context, is based on the areas of the sociology of religion, ecclesiology and canon law

This thesis extends recent scholarly interest in the practical processes of Late Antique Roman law and on the integration of the episcopate into Roman power structures in the fourth century, the first century of imperial patronage of Christian communities. It confirms the "minimalist" model of Roman governance and provides a non-medieval example of the persecution of minorities as a contingent effect of competing claims to authority. This thesis argues that fourth-century elite Roman men disputing episcopal status via the Roman courts led to a transformation of episcopal polity, and that this development has been obscured by a subsequent paradigm shift in the norms concerning episcopal use of Roman law towards the end of that century. This paradigm shift identified by this thesis has three important aspects:1. With the change in imperial dynasty from the Valentinians to Theodosians, imperial favour moved from non-Nicene to Nicene bishops. Disparity of access to imperial favour during the fourth century required Nicene-identified bishops to invent tools to succeed in spite of their poor position. After the Theodosian-Nicene takeover, the Nicene-identified bishops retained these tools while also inheriting the legal framework that the non-Nicene bishops had crafted during their mid-century period of patronage.2. The power structures through which imperial favour was granted also changed. The typical fourth-century use of Roman law to resolve inter-episcopal disputes was different from that which would become established as a more enduring precedent in the Theodosian era. 3. The episcopal rhetoric used in claiming imperial favour changed from a focus on affirming one's own privilege to a focus on the proscription of others. The terminology of orthodox versus heretical is significant but must be understood as relational: even once heretics were proscribed by law, orthodoxy remained a status granted by the emperor. The methodology of this thesis argues for the importance of interpreting the relevant fourth-century sources in the context of their own time and norms, rather than in the light of the significantly different fifth-century practice as previous scholarship has done. This thesis first discusses two case studies before the paradigm shift: in Chapter One, Athanasius of Alexandria, as an example typical of the fourth century, and in Chapter Two, Priscillian of Avila, as an example at the cusp of the transition in the 380s who still demonstrates conformance with earlier practice. The thesis then describes the transition to the Theodosian-Nicene mode with an extended focus on Ambrose of Milan. Chapter Three shows Ambrose, contemporary with Priscillian, refusing to engage with existing episcopal legal practices and inventing a new strategy to survive the threat of Roman law. Chapter Four shows how Ambrose further refined this strategy in other conflicts and in doing so created a new place for bishops within the power structures of the Roman Empire.

Discipline was an enduring concept in the works of John Milton (1608-1674), yet its meaning shifted over the course of his career: initially he held that it denoted ecclesiastical order, but gradually he turned to representing it as self-willed pious action. My thesis examines this transformation by analysing Milton’s complex engagement in two distinct periods: the 1640s and the 1660s-70s. In Of Reformation (1641), Milton echoed popular contemporary demands for a reformation of church discipline, but also asserted through radical literary experimentation that poetry could discipline the nation too (Chapter 1). Reflecting his dislike for intolerant Presbyterians in Parliament and the Westminster Assembly, the two versions of The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (1643 and 1644) reconsider discipline as a moral imperative for all men, rooted in domestic liberty (Chapter 2). Although written long after this period, the long poetry that Milton composed after the Restoration reveals his continued interrogation of the concept. The invocations of the term ‘discipline’ by Milton’s angels in Paradise Lost (1667) sought to encourage dissenting readers to faithfulness and co-operation (Chapter 3). Paradise Regained and Samson Agonistes (1671) advance the concept in the language of ‘piety,’ emphasising that ‘pious hearts’ are the precondition for godly action in opposition to contemporary Anglican ‘holy living’ (Chapter 4). In analysing Milton’s shifting concept of discipline, my thesis contributes to scholarship by showing his sensitivity to contemporary mainstream religious ideas, outlining the Christian—as opposed to republican or Stoic—notions of praxis that informed his ethics, and emphasising the disciplinary aspect of his doctrinal thought. Overall, it holds that in discipline, as word and concept, Milton expressed his faith in the capacity of writing to change its reader, morally and spiritually.