successors. 15

The Diocesan Synod had no power or authority to change in any way the authority or jurisdiction of the Bishop of Nova Scotia. The Letters Patent of Bishop Hibbert Binney are quite clear that, as Bishop of Nova Scotia, he was granted authority "to exercise jurisdiction spiritual and ecclesiastical in and throughout the said See and Diocese according to the laws and Canons of the Church of England which are lawfully made and recorded in England".16 In addition, the Letters Patent of Bishop Binney conferred upon him the same power and authority (during the will and pleasure of the Crown) as granted in the Letters Patent of Bishop John Inglis over Prince Edward Island "to exercise jurisdiction spiritual and ecclesiastical and to perform all and singular the functions and authorities within the province".17

The intent of the Report of the Executive Committee of the Diocesan Synod was to redefine the legal term ‘Diocese’ in a manner in which to achieve the express purpose of inclusion of Prince Edward Island as an integral part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia. By the constitution and Act of Incorporation (under which the Diocesan Synod was operating) the Synod was exempted from any spiritual or ecclesiastical jurisdiction, instead, being confined to the spheres of matters of discipline, the temporalities of the church, and for the order and good government of the church in the Province of Nova Scotia. The Executive Committee, in its Report, was acting contrary to the customs and traditions of the Church of England. The attempt to redefine the term ‘Diocese’ as simply the area under the jurisdiction of a bishop, was an overt attempt to overlook the facts and to alter definitions which had been used for centuries in a specific manner to refer to legal definition. Each diocese has specific legal boundaries which cannot be altered at the whim of a Diocesan

Bishop or a Diocesan Synod.

Upon the realization that there was indeed a problem created by the Act of Incorporation, the Diocesan Synod began to study the question. It was during the twelfth session that the Act of Incorporation was finally amended to facilitate the admittance of representatives from the Island parishes by addressing their main point of objection:

Be it declared and enacted by the Governor, Council and Assembly as follows: I. Not withstanding anything contained in the Act to 1 1corporate the Diocesan

33. Act of Incorporation of the Diocesan Synod of Nova Scota. From: Report of the Sixth Session of the Diocesan Smod of NS.

34. Letters Patent Roll, British Museum. Bishop Hibbert Bimey. March 25th, 1851.

35. Ibid.

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