Editing Prolocutor

A '''prolocutor''' is a chairman of some ecclesiastical assemblies in [[Anglicanism]]. 

==Usage in the Church of England==
In the [[Church of England]], the Prolocutor is chair of the lower house of the [[Convocations of Canterbury and York]], the House of Clergy. The Prolocutor presides in that house and acts as representative and spokesperson in the upper house. They are elected by the lower house in the [[Province of Canterbury]] and [[Province of York]] for a period of five years at the beginning of each quinquennium of the [[General Synod of the Church of England]]. The two Convocations each also elect two deputies, known in the Northern Province as the Deputy Prolocutor, and in the Southern Province as the Pro-Prolocutor.

The Prolocutor plays a role in the Confirmation of Election of a bishop or archbishop, 'supporting' (in some cases) a member of the lower house moving to the upper house. <ref>[http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/data/files/resources/5014/Order-of-Service-confirmation-of-election-of-Archbishop-of-Canterbury-4-Feb-2013.pdf e.g. p. 23 of Order of Service – Confirmation of election of the Archbishop of Canterbury, 4 February 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304111507/http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/data/files/resources/5014/Order-of-Service-confirmation-of-election-of-Archbishop-of-Canterbury-4-Feb-2013.pdf |date=4 March 2016 }} (Accessed 8 April 2017)</ref>

Following the inauguration of the General Synod in 2015, Simon Butler was elected as the Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of Canterbury. [[Cherry Vann]] was elected as Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of York, but on her being made Bishop of Monmouth in January 2020, Chris Newlands was elected in her place. The current Prolocutor is Revd Kate Wharton. The current Prolocutor of the Lower House of the Convocation of Canterbury is Ven. [[Luke Miller]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.churchofengland.org/about/general-synod/structure/convocations-canterbury-and-york|title=Convocations of Canterbury and York|accessdate=18 November 2024}}</ref>

The term means one who speaks for others (Lat. ''pro'', for, and ''loqui'', to speak).

==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 of the Anglican Church of Canada|Primate]].  As such, he or she ranks as the second executive officer of the [[General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada]].<ref>[http://images.anglican.ca/pdf/handbook/101_glossary.pdf Glossary of the handbook of the Anglican Church of Canada] Retrieved 24 Feb 2007.</ref> The current prolocutor is Cynthia Haines Turner, who previously served as Deputy Prolocutor.

Each of the four [[Ecclesiastical provinces of the Anglican Church of Canada | Ecclesiastical Provinces]] 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 [[General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada | General Synod]] reverts to a bi-cameral structure for the election of the Primate, during which the Prolocutor chairs the meeting of the Clergy and Laity.<ref>[http://images.anglican.ca/pdf/handbook/203_canon_III.pdf Canon III, Handbook of the Anglican Church of Canada] retrieved 8 August 2013</ref> In addition, the Constitution provides for separate meetings of the three Orders ([[Bishop]]s, [[Clergy]], and [[Laity]]) in which the Prolocutor and Deputy Prolocutor chair the Orders of Clergy and Laity.<ref>[http://images.anglican.ca/pdf/handbook/103_synod_const.pdf Constitution of the General Synod, Section 6] retrieved 8 August 2013.</ref>

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.

==See also==
* {{annotated link|Speaker (politics)}}

==References==
*{{1911|wstitle=Prolocutor|volume=22|page=434}}

==Sources==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Anglican ecclesiastical offices]]
[[Category:Anglican Church of Canada]]