Before I do so, however, there are other objections to my analysis that deserve a response. Bishop Whalon and others often argue that Dioceses are \u201ccreated\u201d\u009d by General Convention. This claim, however, is an example of wishful thinking that ignores the legal precision of Article V of TEC\u2019s Constitution. This article is entitled \u201cAdmission of New Dioceses,\u201d\u009d and not \u201cCreation of New Dioceses.\u201d\u009d The first sentence specifies General Convention\u2019s role in the process. It is to \u201cconsent.\u201d\u009d The wording indicates at the outset that the role of General Convention is secondary, not primary. It consents to actions initiated elsewhere.<\/p>\n
The following sentences in Article V elaborate this process. The proceedings \u201coriginate\u201d\u009d with a convention of \u201cthe unorganized area,\u201d\u009d not with General Convention. It is the unorganized area that \u201cduly adopts\u201d\u009d its own constitution. Article V then describes the legal entity created by the duly adopted constitution not, as before, as an \u201cunorganized area,\u201d\u009d but as a \u201cDiocese.\u201d\u009d Then the \u201cnew Diocese\u201d\u009d submits its constitution to the General Convention for consent; and upon receipt of this consent, it enters into \u201cunion with the General Convention.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
In this articulation of the steps involved in the creation of a new Diocese, Article V reflects the civil law. When an unorganized area adopts its own constitution, by definition it is no longer \u201cunorganized.\u201d\u009d It is a legal entity. In the terminology of Article V, this entity is called a \u201cnew Diocese.\u201d\u009d This step, furthermore, occurs before the constitutional involvement of General Convention. What happens when the new Diocese obtains the consent of General Convention to its application is that it is \u201cadmitted\u201d\u009d into union with the other dioceses in General Convention. The transformation from \u201cunorganized area\u201d\u009d to \u201cnew Diocese\u201d\u009d occurs when the diocesan constitution is duly adopted. When General Convention gives its consent, another transformation occurs, but it is not the creation of a new Diocese. It is the transformation of unaffiliated \u201cnew Diocese\u201d\u009d to member diocese of General Convention.<\/p>\n