The General Synod, which comprises a House of Bishops, a House of Clergy and a House of Laity, with representatives from all English Dioceses, meets two to three times a year to consider legislation for the Church of England, along with worship and matters of national and international importance.
Each diocese is represented by its diocesan Bishop (in our case the Bishop of Hereford) and by clergy representatives elected by the clergy of the diocese, together with lay representatives elected by lay members of our deanery synods. Members of Synod are elected for a five year term.
The first meeting of the new quinquennium for General Synod will take place in London later this year. To learn about General Synod, visit the Church of England website.
Our representatives hold seats in the three houses:
House of Bishops
- The Rt. Revd. Richard Jackson
The General synod election results are now public and our elected representatives for the House of Clergy and House of Laity are listed below:
House of Clergy
Read the details of the election results for the House of Clergy
House of Laity
Read the details of the election results for the House of Laity.
Other Governance Committees and Groups
Each area across England is divided into what are called a diocese. These are areas that have their own separate structures of governance, finance and organisation. In Hereford Diocese, we cover a geographic area that goes beyond county boundaries and takes in parts of Powys, Monmouthshire, Worcestershire as well as south Shropshire and the whole of the county of Herefordshire. There are a total of 42 dioceses across the whole of the Church of England. With a diocese, the areas are broken down into archdeaconry, deanery, benefice and parishes. Each diocese has its own diocesan synod of governance, which is supported by the Bishop’s Council, Finance Committee, Diocesan Advisory Committee (Planning) and Mission and Pastoral Committee.