Introduction
Welcome to the revised and updated Diocesan Handbook.
This replaces all the relevant material that was previously lodged on our website under the headings of ‘Resources’ It has been written to be fully compliant with a number of legal requirements which apply to the Diocese especially:
- The Canons of the Church of England
- Various Church of England rules, regulations and guidance on a broad range of matters from safeguarding to how we elect people to office. The revised Diocesan Handbook is made up of the following parts:
- Foundation Documents: Specifically the Diocese in Europe Measure and the Diocesan Constitution.
- Diocesan Protocols: Set out in seven ‘Chapters’ this part provides a succinct outline of how the Diocese implements the requirement of the Foundation Documents
- Supporting Documents: providing detailed means of compliance with particular issues in the protocols. This comprises both User Guides and other Supplementary Information
- Standard Diocesan Forms and Templates: the forms and other pre-prepared material that we need to use from time to time
- Key policies; A direct link is given to particularly important Diocesan policies such as Safeguarding.
Within the overall Handbook you will find a mixture of:
- What must be done – those things that are mandatory, no ifs or buts; together with
- What is good practice – what should be achieved as a minimum. If you can do better then that will be excellent. If you really can’t achieve this standard then you must discuss this with your archdeacon to find a solution.
In all the documents, the language used will make it clear what is mandatory and what is good practice. If in doubt – ask your archdeacon! It should be remembered that in the event of any dispute or complaint, the investigating person will look more kindly on those who have done not only that which is mandatory but also that which is good practice.
The revised Handbook covers all of the key documents which govern the life of our diocese and I commend it to everyone in the Diocese who has a role to play in achieving our mission of growing God’s Kingdom.
Bishop Robert