THE COLLEGE OF CONSULTORS

Composition of the College of Consultors

The Metropolitan chooses the members of the College of Consultors from among the members of the Presbyteral Council, the Diaconal Council, and the Monastic Council in accordance with the applicable canons of the Code of Canon Law, which determines the scope and way the consultors can assist the Metropolitan in fulfilling his duties as diocesan bishop. There must be six to twelve consultors, and the body is appointed for a term of five years.

Function

The Metropolitan presides over the College of Consultors.  The College assists the Metropolitan in certain areas of administration as determined by law.  The College also provides for the governance of the Archdiocese if the see is vacant or impeded.  While the Metropolitan presides over the College, he is not a member of it, and as such, he does not vote on matters brought before the College.  A priest is to be selected from the College to serve as “President,” and he is to set the agenda, convoke the members in collaboration with the Metropolitan, and facilitate the meetings of the College. A secretary should also be selected from the College, and he is to keep the minutes of the meetings. 

When the see is occupied, the College performs the following functions:

• When consulted, provide feedback for the formation of the ternus of candidates for the episcopacy.
• Along with the Archdiocesan Chancellor, the College is to receive the apostolic letters and triple professions of faith from the newly-elected and appointed Metropolitan and of bishops elected and appointed to the suffragan dioceses, if any, of the Archdiocese;
• The College, along with the Archdiocesan Finance Council, is to be consulted by the Metropolitan on the appointment and removal of the Archdiocesan Chief Financial Officer;
• The College is to be consulted by the Metropolitan in more important acts of administration;
• The College is to give or withhold consent to the Metropolitan for acts of extraordinary administration as defined by the Constitution of the Italo-Greek Byzantine Orthodox Catholic Church;
• The College is to give or withhold consent to the Metropolitan for alienation of archdiocesan temporal goods where its intervention is required;
• When a juridic person needs the permission of the Metropolitan to alienate goods, and when the value of the goods to be alienated exceeds the maximum for which the Metropolitan can give permission on his own accord, the College is to give or withhold consent to this alienation;
• The College is to intervene in all other matters foreseen in the law that calls for its intervention.

When the see is vacant or impeded, the College performs the following functions:

• To assume the duties of the Presbyteral Council, the Diaconal Council, and the Monastic Council in all matters pertaining to the appointment, transfer, and supervision of clergy, as well as the supervision of all monasteries;
• If there is no auxiliary bishop, the College governs the Archdiocese from the notice of the vacancy until the election of the archdiocesan administrator if no other provision is provided;
• To elect, within eight days, an archdiocesan administrator;
• To give consent before the archdiocesan administrator permits migration of clergy, issue dimissorial letters; remove the chancellor or other notaries;
• The College and Chancellor are to receive the apostolic letter of appointment and the triple professions of faith of the new Metropolitan;
• When the see is impeded and other provisions of the law do not provide for the governance of the impeded see, the College is to select a priest to govern the Archdiocese in the interim;
• To give advice or consent according to both ecclesiastical and civil law;
• To convene and hold, at the instruction of the Archbishop and Primate, an extraordinary session of the Provincial Council for the sole purpose of electing a new Metropolitan according to the law.