Archbishops' Commission on Church and State 2

Documents, minutes and correspondene created and collected by the commission.
The final report can be found in the library catalogue with call number H5157.A7C4 1936.

ROP: 1930 (60-108, 419-26); 1936 (65-115, 312-363)

GS Report: CA 523, CA 523A

The commission was formed by Cosmo Gordon Lang, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1929. Its terms of reference show that it was formed to 'enquire into the present relations of Church and State, and particularly how far the principle [that the church should be able to control its own practices] is able to receive effective application in present circumstances in the Church of England, and what legal and constitutional changes, if any, are needed in order to maintain or to secure its effective application' The chair of the commission was Robert Cecil, 1st Viscount Cecil of Chelwood and Mr L. Eaton Smith was the secretary.It was set up immediately following the rejection by parliament of the 1928 book of common prayer, this highlighted that the Church was subject to parliament on spiritual matters.. The House of Commons was given the final power to approve measures passed the Church Assembly as they were seen to be representatives of the laity. This blocking of a measure which had been approved by both houses of both convocations and the Church Assembly by an organisation which had no specific religious ties raised questions of whether parliament was the right way of representing the laity in church affairs and disestablishment. The commission also looked at the extent of conformity of church services and presence of anglo-catholicism in each diosece. It made recommendations about ecclesiastical courts relating to this.The commission sat on 17 occassions between 1930 and 1935.Its report (CA 532 or H5157.A7C4) was published in 1936 which recommended the church gain independence from parliament on spiritual matters; changes to eccesiastical courts including the creation of pastoral tribunals and a tribunal for the araignment of bishops. They also gave interim proposals as they suspected it would take considerable time for their full proposals to be enacted.