A Bill which will enable the boards of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, to be identified as the trustee body of the cathedral, in line with requirements of the Charities Act 2009 was presented at General Synod this afternoon.

The Dean and Chapter of the Cathedral have approved an amendment – of the Statute of General Synod, Chapter I of 1902 – which will bring its regulation into line with other cathedrals of the Church of Ireland.

Proposing the Bill, the Ven Ricky Rountree explained that it seeks to deal with an anomaly in the governance statute of the General Synod regarding Christ Church Cathedral.

“The wording of the 1902 Statute would seem to suggest that the governing body of the Cathedral is the Dean and Chapter – while the day–to–day running of the Cathedral by the Board is a delegated task from the Chapter. This has not caused any great difficulty up until now and the relationship between the Dean and Chapter and the Board of the Cathedral has not caused any practical difficulties. However, in the light of the new charity legislation of 2009 there is a need for clarity in the legal definition regarding these two bodies and their role in the governance of the Cathedral,” the Archdeacon explained.

The Bill amends section 4 of Chapter 1 of 1902 and clarifies the roles of the Dean and Chapter and the functions of the Board, bringing Christ Church into line with other cathedrals in the Church of Ireland. The members of the board can now become trustees of the cathedral in the same way as members of a Select Vestry are the trustees of a parish which means the cathedral can now have an appropriate registration with the Charities Regulatory Authority.

The Bill passed its first and second stages and will come before Synod again on Saturday for its final stage.