General Synod By-election 2025 - House of Clergy
Following the appointment of Esther Prior as Bishop of Aston, there is now a vacancy in the House of Clergy on General Synod respresenting Guildford Diocese. There is a requirment to run a By-election to fill this vacancy and Civica Election Services (CES) is administering the By-election on behalf of the Diocese of Guildford. Eligible members will be contacted by CES with information about how to nominate candidates to stand for election.
The term of office begins when the by-election count has been concluded on 20th May 2025 and ends following the next General Election in mid October 2026.
Further information is available at General Synod Elections - Diocese of Guildford
Diocesan Synod Committee Elections
Following the closing date for voting for the election to the Diocesan Board of Education (DBE), details of those elected are available at Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) elections - Diocese of Guildford
For further information, please contact synod@cofeguildford.org.uk
The whole of the Church of England is governed through a structure of meetings called Synods that operate at all levels; national, regional and local.
- Each Synod is made up of clergy and lay people, many of whom are elected representatives.
- Together, they consider, discuss and make decisions about the life of the Church.
- A Synod may delegate some powers to specific Committees which then implement a decision that has been made at Synod.
- The Church of England has three tiers of synods: the General Synod (national); Diocesan Synod (regional), and Deanery Synod (local).
General Synod
The General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England – its decisions affect every Church of England diocese and church across the country. It is made up of elected members from each diocese. A new General Synod was elected during 2021 and there won’t be another election until 2026.
Read more about the General Synod on the national Church of England website.
See which people in the Diocese of Guildford are currently on the General Synod.
General Synod By-election 2025 - House of Clergy
Diocesan Synod
This is the primary governing body for a diocese. With a membership made up of around 120 representatives, it is split into three Houses - Bishops, Clergy and Laity.
Committees of the Diocesan Synod
Deanery Synods
Deanery Synods represent the local governance covering all parishes in a defined area. All parish incumbents are automatically on Deanery Synods, alongside clergy who hold a Bishop’s license for our diocese. In addition, parishes elect a specified number of lay members.
As well as being able to bring proposals and motions to Diocesan Synod for debate, Deanery Synod members also act as the electorate for all elections to Diocesan Synod and General Synod.
There are currently two Casual Vacancy elections for Clergy with Permission to Officiate in Aldershot and Godalming Deaneries. More information can be found here.
Details of Area Dean and Lay Chairs
Board of Education
The Diocesan Board of Education (DBE) is the statutory body which is responsible for promoting Christian education across the Diocese of Guildford.
Under the DBE Measure 2021, the DBE provides oversight and guidance to 83 Church of England schools and 6 academy trusts on all matters related to the Christian character of its Church schools. This includes support for Religious Education, collective worship, school effectiveness, school estates and legal matters.
The DBE reports annually to Diocesan Synod and implements its education strategy and policies through the work of its officers, the Education team, who are based at Church House, Guildford.
Annual Report
You can download and read the Diocese of Guildford Annual Report here.
Meeting dates
All our Governance meetings can be seen on our Calendar. Select 'Governance' via the filter.
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