Provisions with respect to the selection of incumbent

13. (1) The patron of a vacant benefice shall not make to any priest an offer to present him to a benefice until -
(a) if a request for a meeting under section 12 of this Measure has been made, either -
(i) that meeting has been held, or
(ii) all the parties concerned have agreed that no such meeting should be held, or
(iii) the period of six weeks mentioned in section 12(5) has expired; and
(b) (whether or not such a request has been made) the making of the offer to the priest in question has been approved -
(i) by the parish representatives, and
(ii) if the patron is a person other than the bishop of the diocese in which the benefice is, by that bishop.
(2) If, before the expiration of the period of four weeks beginning with the date on which the patron sent to the bishop a request for him to approve under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above the making of the offer to the priest named in the request, no notice is received from the bishop of his refusal to approve the making of the offer, the bishop shall be deemed to have given his approval under that paragraph.

(3) If, before the expiration of the period of two weeks beginning with the date on which the patron sent to the parish representatives a request for them to approve under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above the making of the offer to the priest named in the request, no notice is received from any representative of his refusal to approve the making of the offer, the representatives shall be deemed to have given their approval under that paragraph.

(4) If -

(a) the bishop refuses to approve under paragraph (b) of subsection (1) above the making of the offer to the priest named in the request, or
(b) any parish representative refuses to approve under that paragraph the making of that offer,
the bishop or the representative, as the case may be, shall notify the patron in writing of the grounds on which the refusal is made.

(5) Where approval of an offer is refused under subsection (4) above, the patron may request the archbishop to review the matter and if, after review, the archbishop authorises the patron to make the offer in question, the patron may make that offer accordingly

Provided that this subsection shall not apply in respect of -

(a) a parish in a diocese to which a declaration under section 2(1)(b) of the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure 1993 applies; or
(b) a benefice comprising a parish to which a resolution under section 3(1) of that Measure applies,
where the refusal is made solely on grounds of sex.

(6) Where a priest accepts an offer made in accordance with the provisions of this section to present him to a benefice and the patron is a person other than the bishop, the patron shall send the bishop a notice presenting the priest to him for admission to the benefice.

Failure of patron to comply with section 9

14. (1) Where any declaration of membership or other information required to be sent to the registrar under section 9 of this Measure is not sent to him before the expiration of the period during which it is required to be so sent and the patron is a person other than the bishop then, after the expiration of that period -
(a) no meeting shall be held under section 12 of this Measure by reason of any request made by the patron and subsections (2), (5), (6) and (8) of that section shall not apply in relation to that patron; and
(b) no offer shall be made to any priest under section 13 of this Measure;
but the bishop may, subject to subsection (2) below, make to such priest as he thinks fit an offer to collate him to the benefice.

(2) The bishop shall not make an offer under subsection (1) above unless the making of the offer has been approved by the parish representatives, and subsections (3), (4)(b) and (5) of section 13 of this Measure shall apply in relation to a request sent by the bishop to those representatives by virtue of this subsection as if for any reference to the patron there were substituted a reference to the bishop.

(3) Where under subsection (1) above the bishop makes to a priest an offer to collate him to a benefice in respect of which more than one person is patron, the patron whose turn it was to present to the benefice shall be treated for the purposes of this Measure as having exercised that turn.

Failure of council to comply with section 11 or 12

15. If a copy of the statement prepared under section 11(1)(a) of this Measure is not sent under subsection (8) of that section to the persons mentioned in that subsection or if notice is not given under section 12(5) of this Measure of any joint meeting requested under subsection (1)(a) of the said section 12 then -
(a) if the bishop is the patron, he may, without making any request for the approval of the parish representatives, make to such priest as he thinks fit an offer to collate him to the benefice; and
(b) if the bishop is not the patron, that patron shall be entitled to proceed under section 13 of this Measure as if paragraphs (a) and (b)(i) of subsection (1), subsection (3) and paragraph (b) of subsection (4) thereof had not been enacted.

Presentation to benefices remaining vacant for 18 months

16. (1) If at the expiration of the period of eighteen months beginning with the date on which a benefice becomes vacant -
(a) no notice of presentation under section 13(6) of this Measure has been received by the bishop, or
(b) where the bishop is the patron, he has not received an acceptance of any offer made by him to collate a priest to the benefice,
the right of presentation to that benefice shall be exercisable by the archbishop in accordance with the provision of this section; and a notice to that effect shall be sent by the bishop to the archbishop.

(2) In calculating the period of eighteen months mentioned in subsection (1) above, no account shall be taken of any of the following periods, that is to say -

(a) a period during which the decision of the bishop to refuse to approve the making to a priest of an offer to present him to a benefice is under review by an archbishop,
(b) a suspension period within the meaning of the Pastoral Measure 1983, and
(c) a period during which the exercise of rights of presentation is restricted under section 24 or 69 of that Measure.
(3) As soon as practicable after a right of presentation becomes exercisable by an archbishop under this section, the archbishop shall send to the secretary of the parochial church council of the parish concerned a notice requiring him within three weeks after receiving the notice to send to the archbishop copies of the statement describing the conditions, needs and traditions of the parish prepared in accordance with section 11 of this Measure together with copies of any additional observations which the council wishes the archbishop to consider.

(4) The bishop may, and if the archbishop so requests shall, send to the archbishop a statement describing in relation to the benefice the needs of the diocese and the wider interests of the Church.

(5) Before the archbishop decides on the priest to whom an offer to present him to the benefice is to be made he shall consult the bishop, the parish representatives and such other persons as he thinks fit, including other persons who in his opinion can also represent the views of the parishioners and, if during the period of eighteen months mentioned in subsection (1) above the approval of the bishop or the parish representatives to the making of an offer to a priest by the patron of the vacant benefice has been refused under section 13 of this Measure, the archbishop shall not make any offer to that priest under this section unless the consent of the bishop or, as the case may be, the parish representatives has been obtained.

(6) Where a priest accepts an offer to present him to a benefice made in accordance with the provisions of this section, the archbishop shall send to the bishop a notice presenting the priest to him for admission to the benefice.

Provisions to have effect where bishop refuses to institute presentee

17. (1) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this Measure shall be taken as affecting the power of a bishop under any rule of law to refuse to institute or admit a presentee to the benefice.

(2) Where in exercise of any such power a bishop refuses to institute or admit a presentee to a benefice, and either no legal proceedings in respect of the refusal are brought or the refusal of the bishop is upheld in such proceedings, the presentation to the benefice affected shall be made by the patron whose turn it was to present when the vacancy first occurred; and for the purposes of sections 7, 9, 11 and 12 of this Measure a new vacancy shall not be treated as having occurred by virtue of this section.

Notice of intention of bishop to institute or collate person to benefice

19. (1) Subject to subsection (3) below, a bishop shall not on a vacancy in a benefice institute or collate any person to the benefice unless after the occurrence of the vacancy a notice in the prescribed form, signed by or on behalf of the bishop, is served on the secretary of the parochial church council of the parish concerned informing him of the bishop's intention to institute or collate that person to the benefice specified in the notice and a period of three weeks has expired since the date of the service of the notice.

(2) As soon as practicable after receiving a notice under subsection (1) above the secretary shall cause the notice or a copy thereof to be fixed on or near the principal door of every church in the parish and every building licensed for public worship in the parish and to remain affixed thereon for two weeks.

(3) Subsection (1) above shall not apply in relation to a person designated by or selected under a pastoral scheme or order as the incumbent of any benefice.

Bishop to act in place of incumbent patron in certain cases

20. Where a benefice ("the ancillary benefice") becomes vacant and it is the turn of the incumbent of another benefice ("the principal benefice"), being the patron of the ancillary benefice, to present to that benefice, then if, when the ancillary benefice becomes vacant or at any time during the vacancy thereof and before a notice of presentation under section 13(6) of this Measure is sent to the bishop by the incumbent of the principal benefice -
(a) the principal benefice is or becomes vacant, or
(b) the principal benefice is under sequestration, or
(c) the incumbent of the principal benefice is suspended or inhibited from discharging all or any of the duties attached to his preferment,
the bishop shall discharge in his place the functions of a patron.

Exercise of patronage by personal representatives

21. Where a benefice becomes vacant and the patron dies during the vacancy, then, notwithstanding anything in section 3(8) of this Measure the right of presentation to that benefice upon that vacancy shall be exercisable by that patron's personal representatives; but, before they exercise that right, they shall comply with the requirements of sections 8 and 9 of this Measure as if they were the patron.

Exchange of benefices

22. (1) Two incumbents may by instrument in writing agree to exchange their benefices if the agreement of the following persons has been obtained -
(a) the bishop of the diocese in which each benefice is,
(b) any patron whose turn it is to present to either of the benefices, and
(c) the parochial church council of the parish of each benefice, the agreement having in each case been given by resolution of the council.
(2) Where a patron whose turn it is to present to a benefice has given his agreement under subsection (1) above to an exchange by the incumbent of that benefice, he shall be treated for the purposes of this Measure as having exercised that turn.

Special provisions applicable to certain benefices

23. (1) The provisions of this Part of this Measure shall in their application to -
(a) a benefice which comprises two or more parishes,
(b) a benefice of which the parochial church council of the parish belonging to the benefice is the patron, and
(c) benefices held in plurality,
have effect subject to the provisions of Schedule 2 to this Measure.

(2) For the purposes of Schedule 2 to this Measure, where a parish includes a district or part of a district assigned to a chapel under the Church Representation Rules -

(a) that district, and
(b) the parish (excluding that district),
shall be treated as if they were separate parishes.

Interpretation of Part II

24. (1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3) below, in this Part of this Measure, except in sections 7(4) and 10, any reference to a patron, in relation to any vacancy in a benefice in respect of which there is more than one patron, shall be construed as a reference to the patron whose turn it is to present on that vacancy.

(2) In a case where the functions of the patron of a benefice in relation to a vacancy in the benefice are to be discharged by the holder of an office or the donee of a power of attorney, any reference in this Part of this Measure (except in sections 8, 9(1) to (4) and 21) to the patron shall (subject to subsection (3) below) be construed as a reference to that office-holder or donee as the case may be.

(3) In sections 11 and 12 of this Measure any reference to the patron of a benefice (except the reference in section 11(2)(b)) shall in a case where the functions of the patron in relation to a vacancy in the benefice are to be discharged by a representative be construed as a reference to that representative, and in section 13 of this Measure any reference to the patron of a benefice shall, in a case where the patron, being an individual, has appointed a body mentioned in section 8(7) of this Measure or another individual to discharge those functions, be construed as a reference to that body or that other individual, as the case may be.

(4) In this Part of this Measure, except in section 8, "representative", in relation to a patron, means -

(a) in the case of a patron who is an individual, the individual appointed under section 8(1)(b), (3) or (6);
(b) in the case of a patron which is a body of persons, the individual appointed under section 8(2);
(c) in the case of a patron which is an office, the individual appointed under section 8(4);
(d) in a case where the functions of a patron are to be discharged by the donee of a power of attorney, the individual appointed under section 8(5).
(5) In this Part of this Measure "parish representative" has the meaning assigned to it by section 11(7) of this Measure.

Part III - Miscellaneous provisions as to patronage

Provisions as to patronage affected by pastoral schemes

29. (3) Subject to any provision for the designation or selection of the first incumbent of a new benefice created by a pastoral scheme, sections 7 to 16 of this Measure shall apply to the making of the first presentation to the benefice as if the coming into operation of the scheme were the occurrence of a vacancy in the benefice.

Abrogation of rules as to lapse

31. (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 16 of this Measure, any rule of law whereby the right of patronage of a benefice lapses to a bishop or archbishop or to Her Majesty in right of Her Crown shall cease to have effect.

(2) Nothing in this section shall affect any right of presentation which on a vacancy in a benefice is exercisable by Her Majesty -

(a) by reason of the appointment to a diocesan bishopric of the incumbent of the benefice concerned, or
(b) by reason of a vacancy in the see of a diocesan bishop who is a patron of the benefice concerned.

Transfer of advowson held on trust for sale or comprised in settled land

33. (1) The tenant for life of settled land may, with the consent of the trustees of the settlement or with the approval of the Court, convey an advowson comprised in the settled land gratuitously to any person who has agreed to accept it and -
(a) being an individual -
(i) is an ecclesiastical corporation sole, or
(ii) is an actual communicant member of the Church of England, or
(b) being a body of persons, corporate or unincorporate, has the furtherance of the work of the Church of England as one of its objects.
(2) Subsection (1) above shall be construed as one with the Settled Land Act 1893 (an Act of Tynwald), and that Act shall apply as if the power conferred by subsection (3) had been conferred by that Act.

(3) For the purposes of this section and of section 53 of the said Act of 1893 as applied by subsection (2), an advowson held by any trustee on a trust which would be a trust for sale if the advowson were capable of sale shall be deemed to subject to a trust for sale.

(4) Nothing in any trust deed shall prevent the transfer inter vivos by trustees of an advowson which is the subject of a trust.

Abolition of certain rights etc. of patrons

34. (1) The following amendments of the Ecclesiastical Residences and Dilapidations Act 1879 (an Act of Tynwald) shall have effect -
(a) in section 10 (consent to erection or alteration of parsonage), for "Bishop and patron, and their" substitute "Bishop, and his", and in proviso (2), omit "patron or";
(b) in section 18 (removal of unnecessary buildings), section 34 (new incumbent to repair) and section 38 (execution of other works), omit "and patron" (in each place);
(c) in section 40 (postponement of works), omit "with the consent of the patron,".
(2) In paragraph 3(1)(c) of Schedule 2 to the Church Act 1992 (an Act of Tynwald), the words "and the patron of the benefice" are omitted.