In
so far as the legal status of the diocese of Harare is concerned, the
conclusion by the learned judge, that it is not a legal entity that
can be withdrawn from the Province, is undoubtedly correct.
The
holding is in accordance with the principle derived from the ancient
laws and usages of the Catholic Church ...
In
so far as the legal status of the diocese of Harare is concerned, the
conclusion by the learned judge, that it is not a legal entity that
can be withdrawn from the Province, is undoubtedly correct.
The
holding is in accordance with the principle derived from the ancient
laws and usages of the Catholic Church that dioceses should be
associated in Provinces. The preamble to the Constitution confirms
that the Church was formed on the basis of the principle that a
diocese is an administrative area or legal division of a Province
under the episcopical jurisdiction of a Bishop. The word diocese is
derived from a Greek term meaning administration.
At
p236 of Collier's
Encyclopaedia Vol. 8
by
W.D.
HALSEY & L. SHORES
(Eds.) the origin and development of the concept of diocese are
traced and articulated in the following words:
“DIOCESE:
A WORD DERIVED FROM THE GREEK…,.
It originally referred to an area or sphere of administration,
financial or other. From about A.D. 300 it meant part of the Roman
Empire, comprising several provinces. Under Constantine (A.D.
306-337), the system was reformed and a number of dioceses were
joined into provinces. With the recognition of Christianity (A.D.
312-313) the diocese was generally recognized as the ecclesiastical
area of a Bishop's
jurisdiction and as a province of an Archbishop's
administration, whereas, earlier the Bishop
had been more closely associated with the city, the capital of the
province, where his throne, or cathedra, was situated in the most
ancient or largest church, or 'cathedral'.
Under
Constantine, too, certain functions of diocesan administration were
handed over to the Bishop,
the emancipation of slaves, for example. In the Church, the
term still denotes the area of a Bishop's
administration and authority.
In
the Middle Ages, as a result of the tendency seen in the False
Decretals, the boundaries of ecclesiastical dioceses came to be
regarded as sacrosanct, and the ecclesiastical use of the word was
applied to smaller areas of tribal or other significance. The only
significant departure from the traditional boundaries occurred in
France in 1790, when, under the Civil Constitution of the Clergy, the
dioceses of Bishops
were identified with the departments.”
The
jurisdiction of the Archbishop of the Province covers all members of
the clergy and laity in the whole area of the four countries.
Procedurally, compliant removal of a diocese can only take place when
the diocese is being placed under the jurisdiction of another
Archbishop. Removal can only be achieved at the risk of structural
adjustment of the government of the Province. It has to be with the
agreement of all dioceses in the four countries accompanied by
approval of the Provincial Synod and endorsement by the Archbishop of
Canterbury that the removal does not affect the terms of Communion
between the Church of the Province, the Church of England and the
rest of the Anglican Communion (Fundamental Declaration VII). Under
Canon 34, the formation of a new diocese or the uniting of any
diocese or the alteration of the boundaries of any diocese can only
be done by the Provincial Synod.
If
a diocese was a legal person that power would not exist because
external power cannot alter the internal governance of a corporate
body.
