Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919
The Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919 (9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 76) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that enables the Church of England to submit primary legislation called Measures, for passage by Parliament. Measures have the same force and effect as Acts of Parliament. The power to pass measures was originally granted to the Church Assembly, which was replaced by the General Synod of the Church of England in 1970 by the Synodical Government Measure 1969.
United Kingdom Parliament | |
| Long title | An Act to confer powers on the National Assembly of the Church of England constituted in accordance with the constitution attached as an Appendix to the Addresses presented to His Majesty by the Convocations of Canterbury and York on the tenth day of May nineteen hundred and nineteen, and for other purposes connected therewith. |
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| Citation | 9 & 10 Geo. 5. c. 76 |
| Territorial extent | United Kingdom |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 23 December 1919 |
| Commencement | 23 December 1919 |
| Other legislation | |
| Amended by | Synodical Government Measure 1969 (No. 2) |
Status: Amended | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
The Act, usually called the "Enabling Act", made possible the addition of a chamber of laymen to the chambers for bishops and clergy in the new Church Assembly. The historian Jeremy Morris has argued that it helped to buffer the Church from anti-establishmentarianism and calls it "probably the most significant single piece of legislation passed by Parliament for the Church of England in the twentieth century". The Church Assembly set up parochial church councils, which have formed the base of the Church's representative system ever since.