EPISCOPALLY LED AND SYNODICALLY GOVERNED

One distinctive of Anglican polity is that we are 'episcopally led and synodically governed'. Most mainline protestant denominations will have one of these but not both. Most of us have been to many Synods and have probably wondered what this all means. Synod is so many things - dull, important, fun, challenging, complex and from time to time incredibly important. It has been described as a lawyers picnic!

In this edition we have two very helpful articles which seek to unpack what this means for us as Anglicans both historically and currently. One from a bishop and the other appropriately is by a lawyer! Andy Judd writes about the people who make Synod work by marshalling votes and participation. Greg Hammond explores the journey of the Diocese of Sydney has been on to clarify the governance relationship between the Archbishop and the Diocese and the many entities that are connected to them.