The Diocese of Chichester | Introduction

Introduction to the Consistory Court of the Diocese of Chichester

Caption: Mark Hill QC

Each diocese of the Church of England has a consistory court presided over by the diocesan chancellor. The chancellor is appointed by the diocesan bishop following consultation with the Dean of Arches and the Lord Chancellor. Professor Mark Hill QC has been chancellor of the diocese of Chichester since September 2000. He is also chancellor of the diocese of Gibraltar in Europe and Deputy Chancellor of the Dioceses of York and Blackburn. He is a member of the Legal Advisory Commission of the General Synod of the Church of England and author of Ecclesiastical Law (third edition, Oxford University Press, 2007) and editor of the Ecclesiastical Law Journal.

The consistory court has a long history but its primary function today is the exercise of the faculty jurisdiction concerning church buildings and their content. Alterations to churches and their furnishings are unlawful unless they have the prior authority of a faculty granted by the chancellor in the consistory court. The faculty jurisdiction exists to preserve the integrity of church buildings, many of which are listed buildings of significant heritage value, and to ensure conformity with the doctrine and practice of the Church of England. Guidance on the exercise of the faculty jurisdiction may be found in the Chancellor’s General Directions Concerning Churches and Churchyards issued at Eastertide 2007. Particular attention is drawn to the List of Minor Works setting out categories which are considered to be de minimis and thus no faculty is required; and to the Churchyard Regulations.

The law and procedure of the consistory court can appear complex and the most up-to-date exposition of the working of the faculty jurisdiction is to be found in chapter 7 of Hill’s Ecclesiastical Law. Petitioners in the consistory and inspecting architects, are advised to familiarise themselves with the Faculty Jurisdiction Rules and the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991. Reference should also be made to the Guidance for the Award of Costs produced by the Ecclesiastical Judges Association in 2000.

All judgments of the Chichester Consistory Court delivered over the past decade are now available on-line. Many deal with mundane or uncontroversial matters but some consider principles of general application to similar petitions. Reorderings are considered in St Mary, Barcombe, Re St Dunstan, Mayfield, and St Peter, Henfield; and in St Margaret, Angmering, an extension of the church building was also involved; exhumation is discussed in Re St Peter ad Vincula. The introduction of headstones which do not comply with the Churchyard Directions was addressed in Re Icklesham Churchyard, which is required reading for parish priests and monumental masons on the subject of costs. For the risks of offering church property for sale on e-bay see Re St James, Birdham; for proper stewardship of PCC funds see Re St Mary Magdalene, South Bersted; and for the status of local authority planning permission see Re St Mary, Slaugham which also addresses worship and mission at a local level. For the exhumation of human remains for the purposes of DNA testing see Re Holy Trinity, Bosham, for the disposal of fixtures see Re St Peter, Racton and for questions of churchmanship generally see Re St Nicholas, Arundel.

The registrar is always happy to assist with queries concerning the faculty jurisdiction and the law and procedure of the consistory court. Please contact the registry clerk in the first instance.

The Worshipful Mark Hill QC
Chancellor of the Diocese of Chichester