A group of bishops, including Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, has developed a proposal responding to requests articulated in "An Appeal to the Archbishop of Canterbury" regarding an alternate primatial relationship for petitioning dioceses. The proposal has been submitted to the Archbishop of Canterbury and to the bishops of the petitioning dioceses.

The response, drafted at a Nov. 27 meeting in New York, provides for the appointment by the Presiding Bishop, in consultation with the Archbishop of Canterbury, of a primatial vicar as the Presiding Bishop's designated pastor to bishops and dioceses that have requested such oversight. The primatial vicar, in episcopal orders, could preside at consecrations of bishops in those dioceses.

Accountable to Bishop Jefferts Schori, the primatial vicar would report to an advisory panel that would include the designees of the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Presiding Bishop, the president of the House of Deputies, and a bishop of The Episcopal Church selected by the dioceses petitioning for pastoral care by the primatial vicar.

The response makes clear that the arrangement does not affect the administrative or other canonical duties of the Presiding Bishop except to the degree that the Presiding Bishop may wish to delegate some of those duties to the primatial vicar. The response also specifies that the primatial vicar and the advisory panel shall function in accordance with the Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church.

The arrangement would be provisional, beginning Jan. 1, 2007, and continuing for three years. The bishops asked the Presiding Bishop to monitor its efficacy, and to consult with the House of Bishops and the Executive Council regarding the arrangement and possible future developments.

Episcopal News Service contributed to this report.