prolocutor

A prolocutor is one who speaks for others (Lat. pro, for, and loqui, to speak); specifically the chairman of the lower house of convocation in the two provinces of the Church of England, who presides in that house and acts as representative and spokesman in the upper house. He is elected by the lower house, subject to the approval of the metropolitan.

Usage in the Anglican Church of Canada

In the Anglican Church of Canada, the prolocutor of the General Synod acts as the deputy to the Primate. As such, he or she ranks as the second executive officer of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada^[1]. The current prolocutor is Robert Falby, who also serves as Chancellor of the Diocese of Toronto. Elected as Deputy Prolocutor, in June 2007, he became Prolocutor when the Rev. Dr. Stephen Andrews was elected Bishop of Algoma, and became ineligible for the office of Prolocutor.

Each of the four Ecclesiastical Provinces ^[2] also has a Prolocutor, who serves a similar function, as a deputy to the Metropolitan (Archbishop) of the Province.

The office of Prolocutor has its origins in the bi-cameral Provincial and General Synods. The relevant Archbishop (Primate or Metropolitan) acted as President of the Upper House (Bishops), and the Prolocutor was the elected President of the Lower House (Clergy and Laity). These Synods are no longer fully bi-cameral, but the office of Prolocutor is retained with different functions. The antecedents of the Canadian office are in the Convocations of the Church of England, in which the Lower House comprises clergy, laity not being members of Convocations. Only clergy and laity, not bishops, may serve as Prolocutor.

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Sources

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