General Synod is the national assembly of the Church of England, commonly referred to as the Church’s Parliament. Together with the Westminster Parliament, it is the only body in the land which is entitled to make national law for England. Synod considers and approves legislation affecting the whole of the Church of England, authorises new forms of worship, debates matters of religious and public interest, and approves the annual budget for the work of the Church at national level.
Members of General Synod are arranged into three Houses: the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy (all ordained members, excluding bishops), and the House of Laity, the lay (not ordained) members from every diocese of the Church of England. Members of the Houses of Clergy and Laity are elected by the clergy and lay members respectively of the Deanery Synods (Link to Deanery Synod - Diocese of Chichester). Chichester has been allocated six clergy seats (+1) and seven laity seats (-1).
In the Diocese of Chichester, the electorate for this election is the Deanery Synod representatives elected at parish APCMs in 2026.
Remaining timetable:
- Monday 21st September - Invitations to vote are issued and the voting period opens
- Monday 12th October - Voting period for postal vote closes
- Tuesday 13th October - Voting period for voting by using elections portal closes
- Wednesday 14th - Friday 16th October – Counting takes place
- Monday 19th October - Deadline for declaration of result
Voters and Candidates
For information about who qualifies as a voter and who can stand for election please follow this link.
Clergy Candidates (14 candidates for 6 places)
Clicking on a candidate’s name will open their election address in a new window:
- Caroline Armitage
- Thomas Carpenter
- Anita Colpus
- Jack Dunn
- Ian Edgar
- Jonathan Frais
- Christine Keyte
- Jo King
- Martha Tsungai Zivito Mutikani
- Martin Poole
- Stephen Rees
- Thomas Robson
- Timothy Stilwell
- Daniel Valentine
Download all Clergy addresses here.
Lay Candidates (26 candidates for 7 places)
Clicking on a candidate’s name will open their election address in a new window:
- Justin Gordon Abdy
- Martin Auton-Lloyd
- Lucy Barr-Hamilton
- Mark Binney
- Joan Bull
- Bob Chambers
- Andrew Crighton
- Simon Eyre
- Mark Gill
- Timothy Griffiths
- Gillian Howarth
- Carol Hyatt
- Christopher Large
- Michelle Lashley
- Claire Levin
- Sarah Page
- Nigel Sarjudeen
- Jonathan Sharp
- Bradley Smith
- Richard Soppitt
- Florence Sparham
- Victoria Townsend
- Jacob Vince
- Anthony Welford
Download all Lay addresses here.