Discipline of Clergy
The consistory court can only become involved in the case of a priest or deacon who is accused of an offence (not involving matters of doctrine, ritual or ceremonial) after the bishop has given the complainant and the accused an opportunity of seeing him. The bishop may decide not to proceed, but if he does favour a trial, the matter is referred to an examiner with legal qualifications (who must be a communicant). If he decides that there is a case to answer, then the trial begins in the consistory court.
The rules under which the clergy can be disciplined are governed by the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure adopted by the Archbishops' Communion in 1963. Courts have only been convened three times for this purpose since then. The last discipline case to be heard by a Consistory Court was that of Brandon Jackson, the Dean of Lincoln, who was acquitted of sexual misconduct in 1995.
Read more about this topic: Consistory Court
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